Spirit- Pieces of the Oracle
by SoulSpirit9440
Summary: The five elemental warriors' grandsons are traveling around the five regions in order to find and collect the pieces to build their Oracle Bells. They face many challenges ahead of them. Will they be able to collect their pieces in time for the Spirit Fight? Sort of a recreation of Shaman King but not really. Please enjoy and review!
1. Prologue

This story is like a recreation of Shaman King but not really. I mostly copy stuff from Shaman King. It stars Yoh's, Ren's, HoroHoro's, Chocolove's, and Lyserg's grandsons that are on a quest to find the peices of their Oracle Bells. Anyway, please enjoy and review! I don't own any of the characters. :)

**Ren: **_So, are you saying that we might not be in the Shaman Fight?_

**Me: **_Sorry about that! But you guys are married and old now._

**HoroHoro: **_Did I get a girlfriend?!_

**Me: **_(Smacks HoroHoro on the head) What don't you get by the word 'married'?!_

**HoroHoro: **_(Jumping up and down) Who is it?!_

**Ren: **_Read and find out moron. (Rolls his eyes)_

**Me: **_(Looking around) Hey, where are the rest of the gang?_

**Ren: **_They're going to come soon in about 30 minutes or so. (Trying to keep an angry HoroHoro off of him)_

**Me: **_(Groan) I have to spend that much time with you two clowns?!_

**Ren and HoroHoro: **_What did you call us?!_

* * *

Prologue

"At last, I have found The Golden Arch!" A man who was 6 feet tall; had messy long black hair that was pulled back into a long ponytail and dark brown eyes that were filled with evil and greed, stood just outside a beautiful golden arch. His filthy clothes were torn and were covered with blood and dirt, but he didn't care; he finally got to the Golden Arch.

All around him, there was nothing but darkness. The only thing shining was the arch; with its radiant glow. There were strange, yet ancient markings all around the arch; they were said to be written by the Patch people, who first created this arch. Rumors has it that once you pass through the golden arch, you would fall into a black pit where the King of Spirits will test you to see if you are worthy enough to be granted pass. If you do succeed, you will have eternal happiness, immortally, and best as well as worst of all, absolute power to rule. Many did not succeed and most died spending their days in utter darkness. It is not easy to find the arch for you have to collect five things to make your Oracle Bell and enter the tournament to determined the king that will rule the whole world if they succeed.

This man had lost in the tournament but is attempting to gain control. He ran to the arch and passed through. At once he was swallowed by the black pit, making him lose all of his senses. He walked in darkness; his greed was increasing by the second. He knew that once he passes this so-called-test, he would be able to rule. No one could be able to beat him. This King of Spirits never show himself other than a huge, tall mountain of power that was in the middle of The Eternal Forest located in Osaki Village; an old village that the Patch people live in.

The man continued to walk to who knows where. He hardly could see his hand in front of his own face. "Where am I, really?" he asked himself. "Who am I? It's like I'm nobody." He looked around or did he? He wasn't sure anymore. _Did I want something? No, I don't think I do, but did I care about that?_ The questions kept running around in his mind. A bright light gleamed in the darkness. He squinted at the light. Was that light? He started to run towards it. The more he ran to it, the more far way the light became. In the distant, The King of Spirits shook his head sadly for the man had failed the test. He will spend the rest of his life reaching for the light.

* * *

_You will not know of that man's name because he is merely an example. Review!_


	2. Chapter 1

Well, this is chapter one of this story. You will learn about two of the main characters in this chapter and how they do not get along at first glance. I do not own any of the characters. Review!

**The rest of the gang walks into the room.**

**Me: **_Yay! No more waiting with the angry morons!_

**Ren and HoroHoro: **_Hey!_

**Anna: **_Quit yelling your mouths off or I'll tie you two to a chair, gag you, take away your ghosts and weapons and throw you in a cellar where you can spend some time getting to know mice!_

**Everybody gulps fearfully at the glaring itako. Nobody wanted to upset Anna.**

**Me: **_Well, that was uh, interesting! Enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 1

One brisk, windy day in a small island called Song, at the Felrook train station, stood an anxious 14 year old boy with his father waiting for the train that his fiancée was on with his mother. The boy's name was Daichi Asakura. He had sandy-tan blonde hair with sea-green eyes. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a red collared short-sleeved shirt on top and dark blue jeans. He wore white shoes and had a bear talons necklace around his neck. He carried a sword around his shoulder. He was told at the age of 10 that he was engaged to a student of his mother's and in a few years or so; they will meet when she is complete with her training.

He was trained by his father and grandfather to become a shaman while his mother and grandmother trained his fiancée to become an itako. There are many types of shamans, such as an itako. Shamans are people who can communicate with spirits from the afterlife or in this case, ghosts. His mother rarely trains anybody so this girl must be pretty special. He had been reminded his whole life that since he was born at the time of The Spirit Tournament, which happens every 1500 years, he, accompanied by his fiancée, must go in search of the five pieces that are located in the five regions in order to create his Oracle Bell which will earn him his spot in The Spirit Tournament. There, he will fight against other competitors and the one who wins will become the Spirit Master.

He turned his head towards the left because that was where the train will come in. His father, Hana Asakura, set a firm hand on his shoulder. "Quit worrying, Dai. Relax, is what your grandfather would say." Daichi nodded.

His grandfather, Yoh Asakura, was always calm. You rarely see him getting angry or frustrated. His grandmother, Anna Kyoyama, was somewhat different. She was known as the ice queen. She never opened up to anybody easily, not even Yoh. She almost never smiles; getting her to be cheerful was like making a miracle. His grandparents were engaged at the age of 10 by his great-grandparents. His mother and father were engaged at the age of 13 by his grandparents; you can see that being engaged at a young age runs in the Asakura family. His great great-grandfather wanted the bloodline of shamans to grow, which was why only talented females are married into the Asakura family.

"They will be here soon, Daichi," said Amidamaru. Amidamaru was Daichi's guardian ghost. He inherits from his father and Hana got him from Yoh. Amidamaru was a Japanese Samurai. He had long silver hair that was tied behind his head. He wears a white cloak and always carries two swords at his side.

_Choo! Choo!_ Daichi quickly turn his head to see a black train coming closer and closer into the station. Big puffs of smoke shot out of the train. _Choo! Choo!_ The train finally came to a sudden stop right in front of them. The big metal doors opened and a rush of people came out.

"Do you see them?" Hana asked his son, looking around for his wife, Alumi Niumbirch; also known as Anna the Third because she was trained by Anna.

"How can I? I haven't seen mom in years and you never would tell me what my fiancée looks like! Mom says that grandma might come home too." Daichi whined to his father.

Hana ruffled Daichi's hair. "Hey, I never knew what your mother looks like either and I didn't mind, much anyway."

Amidamaru laughed. "Didn't Alumi save you from your battle with two members of the Asakura branch family? And didn't she also challenge you to fight her in order to prove you were worthy of being her husband?" Hana scowl and Daichi laugh.

"You never change," a voice behind them said. They turned around to find Anna; with her ice-cold graze, Alumi giving a small smile and was wearing her red bandana around her neck like a scarf, and a pretty dark-blonde haired girl with brown colored strands at the tips of her hair stood next to them. She wore a short black dress and a red bandana hang around her head; just like Anna and Alumi in their childhoods. There was a single braid near her right ear. She had white leggings under the dress that reached to her thigh and around her neck hang a red-colored bead necklace with a matching bracelet. She had white flats with a hint of red around the edges and her chocolate-brown eyes graze into Daichi's sea-green eyes.

She pointed a finger at him and raised an eyebrow. "You're the one I'm going to marry?" she asked him.

Daichi raised his own eyebrow. "Yeah, so? You're not so great either." he shot back while smirking at her face when he said that. She quickly recovered and narrowed her eyes at him at the comment.

"Daichi, I don't think you should say that to your fiancée." Amidamaru pointed out.

Daichi pointed an accusing finger at the girl. "She started it!"

"Well, I'm sure you two will get along just fine later on," Hana said nervously; he was trying to lighten up the mood but it wasn't working.

"Daichi, this is Annie Heartfilia. She will be going with you on your journey tomorrow. You two are going to have to learn to get along with each other. She's younger than you by a year and I expect you to protect her, understand?" Alumi said.

He nodded, but only because he didn't want his parents to be mad and by making his grandmother angry; he would never see light again. They began to walk out of the train station to go to Celestine Angel; the inn where the Asakura family lives.

Before he knew it, he was soon walking side by side with Annie. Amidamaru floated above the two. He slipped his hands into his pockets; trying to act calm. Though he never would admit it, he really didn't like girls too much. He feared his grandmother and mother and the girls at school are so annoying; they were always trying to win his attention. He smirked to himself. This could actually be fun because he never met a girl around his age that didn't like him yet she didn't seem to care.

"Pervert," Annie said without looking at him. He glared at her.

"What gives you the right to say that?" he raised his voice. She ignored him. They continued to walk in silence. Meanwhile, Amidamaru kept looking between the two, anxiously.

* * *

At long last, they reached Celestine Angel. The inn was a traditional Japanese inn. The main house was bigger than the rest. The houses were connected by open hallways. The forest was around the whole inn. Hot springs were found near the back of the house. Plant life was trim neatly around the inn. There was a gravel road that went to the front steps. There was many rooms because the inn use to be fill with students that wanted to become shamans, but soon less and less people believe in spirits and so there were very less students left.

Anna walked straight to Yoh's room where she found him listening to his favorite music. "Yoh," her ice-cold voice came down on him hard. Slowly, Yoh turned around fearfully to see a very angry Anna.

"Anna! You're um, back. I didn't know. Heh, heh." he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

She walked up to him and brought down her Legendary Left; leaving him to rubbed his sore cheek. He smiled his goofy smile at her; she was still the same as ever. They both walk down the stairs to find Daichi and Annie in a heated argument.

Serena Usui; Tamao Tamamura and Horokeu Usui's granddaughter was trying to break up the fight between the shaman and the itako. Serena had long blue hair with black strands at the tips. She wore a simple pale pink kimono with a light blue slash. Her pale pink eyes look worried.

Tamao was married to Horokeu**, **also known as HoroHoro, and they were both friends of Anna and Yoh. They went traveling 10 years ago, leaving their daughter, granddaughter and grandson with the Asakura family. Tamao was very loyal to the Asakuras since she had studied with them since she was four years old so she had always serve them which was why the Asakuras think of her as one of their own. Their grandson went on a trip and would be back soon.

"Look, I don't care what you say! What I do is none of your concern!" Daichi shouted as he putted his hands down on the table firmly. "I am not getting rid of my headphones!" Like Yoh and Hana, Daichi also wears orange with black edges headphones on his head all the time (well not ALL the time, but you get it).

"And I say that with those headphones, you won't focus at all!" Annie shot back; her hands were on her hips.

"Um, you guys. Why don't we all get along, huh?" Serena stared anxiously at the two, who were glaring at each other.

"Miss Anna, please do something!" Amidamaru cried when he saw Yoh and Anna come down the stairs.

"Enough!" Anna shouted. "This is ridiculous! If I hear you two argue again, you both owe me a thousand push-ups!"

They both quickly shut up, but they still were glaring daggers at each other. And that was how the whole day and night went; both were refusing to talk at each other and even stop looking at each other. Hana, Yoh, and Amidamaru were really starting to doubt this engagement. Anna and Alumi just waved it off.

* * *

_Like teacher, like student. Annie is based on both Anna and Alumi. Poor Daichi, he has to suffer the same thing as Yoh and Hana!_


	3. Chapter 2

Well, this is when the rest of the main characters will come in! I do not own any of the characters. Please review!

**Yoh: **_This story is interesting Soul. (My nickname will be Soul)_

**Anna: **_So, are the grandsons of the boys will be based on them? (She jerk her head toward the boys)_

**Me: **_Yep! I made a few changes a bit as well. (Nodding)_

**Ren: **_What sort of changes? (Narrowing his eyes and glaring at me)_

**Me: **_(Shrugging) Nothing you need to worry about. Oh yeah, Jeanne is coming. (Now smirking at Ren's face)_

**Ren: **_(Beginning to understand where this will lead to) You wouldn't._

**Me: **_(Smiling evily while keeping an innocent face) Oh, yes. I would._

**Yoh: **_Come on, buddy. It can't be too bad._

**Ren: **_Shut up Asakura. And don't call me buddy._

**The boys started to tease Ren which started a fight between the five boys. Anna, Pilika, Tamao and I roll our eyes.**

* * *

Chapter 2

The next day was the perfect day to start a journey. It was sunny and warm. Peacefulness spread throughout Celestine Angel. Too bad Daichi and Annie were still as cold to each other as a glacier that was over a thousand years old. Everybody waved at them as they walked away; trying to put on smiles on their faces. _What were they thinking putting those two together?_ Yoh thought. _I doubt those two would last together very long,_ thought Hana. Both were soon whacked in the head by their wife. In case you didn't know, Anna and Alumi have the power to read minds and Annie too likely.

Daichi and Annie reached Locker Forest at nightfall. Their first destination was Key Onsen; where the first piece of the Oracle Bell was hidden. But the Locker Forest was a deadly forest covered with deadly insects. The insects would only stay away if they sense that you have a high spirit level or a really strong smell. Key Onsen was the only place that they know that held a piece. They would have to find out where the other pieces are located themselves. The forest was quite. Everywhere you look, you always find plant life growing. Insects lurked from all around them. The moon shined brightly tonight, so they decided to cover as much ground as possible before finding a place to stop.

Daichi was strong if he do say so himself. After all, he had been practicing with Amidamaru ever since he was born. He really is good at swordplay.

He reached into his pocket for Amidamaru's memorial tablet. Amidamaru's tombstone was broken into two a long time ago and since floating around isn't very good because some itako or dàoshì can capture him. Amidamaru had gone in there the moment they set off. It was better for a ghost to travel in flame mode when he is not in his tablet so it would be harder for him to get capture. It was fine with Daichi through because even if Amidamaru was a great friend and all, sometimes Daichi just wanted to be alone.

He looked over at Annie. She didn't look that angry anymore. He smiled. Being with her might not be so bad. Teasing her had been a blast last night. Never had he had this much fun with a girl. _She may be cute but boy, does she have a temper! She's stubborn, but then so am I,_ Daichi thought.

"You know, we have to stay on guard for the insects. Some will still attack you no matter what." Annie stopped and turns to face him.

"What? Amidamaru and I can take care of them. You don't have to worry." Daichi defended himself.

"I never said anything about you not being able to handle it." Annie looked around. "We should stop and rest."

Daichi nodded and got out his blanket. He unrolled it and laid it flat on the ground. He took his sword and went to gather some firewood. He didn't need to go far because soon a giant ladybug-like creature leaped out of the night. It was huge and had three white antennas on the top of its oval shaped head. Its wings were long and sharp. It gave a loud roar; showing razor sharp teeth. The dots on its back had red eyes. Above the trees were vicious red eyes of the other insects, just waiting for him to fall.

"Amidamaru! Fusion!" Daichi shouted as Amidamaru went into flame mode and went inside Daichi's sword. The sword overflowed with power. Daichi gripped the sword tightly.

"You ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be, Daichi," Amidamaru responded from inside the sword.

The bug lunged forward at Daichi. Quickly he went under and came behind the bug. He raised his sword, but the bug was faster. It caught him in its antennas and squeeze. Daichi shouted out and bit his lip. This bug was strong, all right. He struggled as much as he can in the bug's grip. His headphones flew off and landed on the ground next to him.

"Daichi! Focus all your power and make it blind!" from behind the bug stood Annie.

Daichi closed his eyes, trying not to feel the bleeding from his right shoulder. He build up his power and kicked the bug right in the head. It staggered back, rubbing its head. He attacked the bug again and it blocks him with its three antennas. It was using its antennas as three swords! He jumped up and brought down the force with his sword, hard. The bug's feet went deep into the ground as it tried to hold its ground. The bug flew up and hovered above him. Daichi was trying hard to keep his breathing leveled. This bug sure knew what it was doing.

He began to summon some of his power. He suddenly launched himself at the bug. "Giga Strike!" he shouted as a powerful green wave came out of the sword when he swung it and slashed the bug in half! The bug went down and it left a very nasty smell behind. Daichi landed and fell to his knee, breathing heavily. That bug was poisonous and it just poison him.

Amidamaru came out of the sword. "Daichi, are you okay?!"

He smiled weakly. "I'll be fine, Amidamaru. It just hurts a little, that's all."

"Come on," Annie held a hand out. Daichi looked at her. "I don't have all day." she continued. He smiled and took her hand as he also grabs his headphones off the ground. She led him back to camp with Amidamaru following them. Daichi told Amidamaru to keep guard for any more bugs. The Japanese samurai nodded and disappeared into the night.

Annie made him sit down on his blanket and began pulling stuff out from her bag. Daichi saw different kinds of herbs and medicine. She grabbed his right arm and began dabbing a wet cloth on the gash. He winced and bit his lip from crying out. She soon mixed a couple of herbs together and rubbed the green and blue paste on his arm. Daichi watched her in amazement. He never knew she could do this kind of thing but then, he didn't know that much about her either. A goofy grin came to his face. She really was interesting. After she was done bandaging his arm, she took a spoon out of her bag, swooped a spoonful of the paste and looked at him.

"What?" he asked her. She continued to stare at him.

"You have to eat it," she said. "But I don't think you can feed yourself well with that arm."

"Why?" he stared at the paste. A thought just occur to him. _She said I couldn't feed myself, which means…_

"Open up." Annie said, her eyes boring into his. He opened his mouth and she fed him the paste. It tasted like fire. He tried really hard to swallow it down. He glared at Annie, who was trying hard not to laugh.

"Again, I asked on why I need to eat that?" he complained, his mouth was still hot.

"You were poison, right? That medicine helps take away the poison in you. You should be lucky you didn't die yet," she answered, giggling.

"Thanks a lot," he scowled at her. She laughs again and told him to get some rest. He lay down on the blanket and place his headphones next to him. Annie laid down next to him a couple of inches away. Amidamaru soon came back. He told them that the bug that Daichi killed was the leader of the insects and so without a leader, the insects won't be attacking for the rest of the night. Daichi still had Amidamaru watch over them though. He rolled over to his side and faced Annie. She looked peaceful and was like an innocent girl in her sleep. He reached out and tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. He laid his hand on top of hers, knowing she would kill him when they woke up but he didn't care at the moment and soon went into deep slumber.

* * *

"Oi! Wake up! Daichi!" a voice shouted at him. He felt a hand shaking his shoulder.

He quickly shot up and rubs his eyes to get the sleepiness out. He looked at Annie to find her still asleep.

A hand waved in his face. He turned to see Akira Usui, HoroHoro and Tamao's grandson. Like his younger sister Serena, he was born with blue hair that was really spiky with black on the ends. He wore a white and blue skiing outfit with dark blue shorts. He had a black and blue headband and had skiing shoes that could attached to his white snowboard that was on his black. He looked like his grandfather and father. His slightly darker ruby-color eyes flamed with excitement. His guardian ghost Corey was a minutian; a type of little people who live under lily pads and bonds with nature. He got Corey from his father who got her from HoroHoro.

Behind him stood Serena. She had on a pink jacket and a black mini-skirt. A white headband pulled back her wavy blue hair. She wore pink snow boots and had a traveling bag on her shoulders. Since she and her brother was born and raised in the north, they wear clothes suited for the cold. She gave him a small smile.

Next to Serena, stood Rei Tao. He was the grandson of Ren Tao and Iron Maiden Jeanne. Like his father and grandfather, his hair also had a spike on it that was called a tongari. His hair was naturally dark purple with steaks of silver hair formed a small portion of his bangs. His golden eyes stared at all the commotion. He wore a black jacket with golden linings all over. On the back of the jacket was a golden dragon. He wore a white shirt underneath and had on red pants with a steak of black. He had white shoes and a scowl on his face. His two guardian ghost was Bason and Shamash. Like his father, he had two guardian ghosts. Bason was a Chinese warlord and was Ren's guardian ghost before. Shamash was the Babylonian god of justice and was Jeanne's guardian ghost previously. Rei carried his sharp spear with a gold chain hanging that had the Tao's family mark on it with him. He also bears the Tao's family tattoo on his bare back.

On Daichi's left stood Yuki Diethel, the grandson of Lyserg Diethel and Millie Tenchi. He had been born with green hair and dark green eyes due to his grandfather and father. He wore a green cloak with a yellow lining and had a white shirt with a white folded cravat. He had black pants and brown shoes. His crystal pendulum case was strapped on his wrist. He had a smile on his face and Chloe, his guardian ghost floated next to him. Chloe was a pretty pink fairy with small glittering wings. Her pink hair was in a bun and a set of goggles rested on top of her head. She smiles alongside Yuki. She used to belong to Lyserg but was soon passed down the family and she was Yuki's now.

On Daichi's right was Charlie McDonell, who was the grandson of Chocolove McDonell and Aya Bell. He had tan skin and black curly hair. He wore a white shirt with a black and orange vest on top. He wore simple brown pants and black shoes. A pair of yellow goggles with brown lining rested in his brown curls. He was laughing and was about to tell one of his famous bad jokes until Rei and Akira smacked him in the head. His guardian ghost was a jaguar named Mic, who he got from his father and grandfather.

The boys' grandfathers were known as the Five Elemental Warriors. They all grew up together and were best friends, just like their grandfathers were. There are a lot of fights that happen, but then, they are boys.

"What are you guys doing here?" he said in a quite hiss because he didn't want to wake Annie up.

The boys all snickered at him and looked between him and Annie. He turned red and glare at them. The boys led him father away from Annie. Serena stayed behind to look after Annie with all of the guardian ghosts.

"Well?" Daichi asked, narrowing his eyes. Even though he was happy to see them; sometimes they were just a pain.

"Geez, Dai. Aren't you happy to see us?" Akira tease. Daichi punched him, hard.

"Our families all agreed to have us all travel together to find the pieces of our Oracle Bell." Yuki explained.

"They could at least tell me!" Daichi complained.

"They decided this after you left, Dai." Rei told him. "That girl is your fiancée?"

Daichi looked over at Annie who was still sleeping._ How can she sleep through all of this commotion?_ He thought. He turned back to the others and nodded. His family must have told them.

"Hey! I think I just got a joke for this! Okay, what does a woman say when  
a guy asks her out?" Charlie exclaimed.

"Enough with your horrible jokes!" both Rei and Akira flung him into the air.

Annie soon woke up, marched over to the boys and flung them all into nearby trees. Yes, she was very strong indeed. All the boys were rubbing their heads as they lay on high, yet strong branches.

"Having to travel with one boy is hard enough, but now I have to deal with the rest of you! Make me angry again and you have to run a thousand miles!" she threaten them, eyes were flashing with anger. Indeed, she was truly the student of Anna and Alumi.

"Daichi, are you okay?" Amidamaru asked, floating by his side. He rubbed his head and jumped down.

"Master Rei!" Bason said. Shamash poked his head.

"I'm fine, you two," he quickly jumped down and scowled at Annie. She ignored him.

"Akira! You okay?" Serena shouted at her brother. He nodded and jumped down.

"Hey! Trees! Okay, what does the tree say to the other tree?" Charlie asked. "Hey there, branch buddy!" Charlie laugh like a wild man at the joke, but everybody else was cold. (In certain countries, when someone tells a bad joke, people tend to freeze if they didn't get it). Nobody got it.

The other boys jumped down. Daichi went to gather his things and soon came back to see Akira and Rei arguing.

"Look blue boy, I'm not going to say it again. You are as dumb as a bar of clowns!" Rei yelled, his spear was in hand.

"Didn't you ever heard of a clown who was smart, Rei?!" Akira shot back.

"Akira! That was my line!" Charlie whined.

"Too bad, Charlie. Beat you to it."

"Bason! Fusion!" Rei shouted. Bason went into the spear and it erupted with power. Rei had the Spirit Of Thunder, one of the elemental spirits.

"Corey! Fusion!' Akira also shouted at the same time. Corey went into Akira's snowboard and it shined a brilliant blue. Akira had the Spirit Of Rain, another one of the elemental spirits. Serena tried to hold him back.

"Guys! Calm down. Besides you're only fighting because you're such good friends!" Daichi smiled a goofy smile. He had the Spirit Of Earth with him.

"We are not good friends!"

"Hey! Friends! That just reminds me of a joke I heard-" Charlie started but before he could finish, Rei and Akira set him flying again. Charlie had the Spirit Of Wind.

"Calm down. We're not going to get anywhere with all the fighting, Save it for later," Yuki tried. He had the Spirit Of Fire. He was also the smartest one out of all the boys. Serena smiled at him gratefully. He returns the smile.

"Look, if you weren't good friends, then you wouldn't care what the other person said." Daichi explained. Rei and Akira both sighed and Corey and Bason came out.

"You take all the fun in arguing," Akira complained.

"True," Rei agreed.

"True, true. Okay, what does a person get from being angry?" Charlie fires another joke. Rei, Akira, Daichi and Yuki all punch him and he fell on the ground.

"Laugh will you?" he whines. They shot him glares.

"Now that you are all done with your yapping, we should get going." Annie began to walk down the trail of the forest. They rushed to catch up with her. There were no bugs in site this early in the morning, so they were safe. They walked in silence until an opening came to view. Daichi was glad to be out of that forest. He rubbed his sore arm. It still hurts from the previous day, but he was sure it will soon heal. They made their way through a rocky path and decided to keep going until they reached Key Onsen.

* * *

**Chocolove (Joco): **_Come on, Soul! Give my grandson a break will ya?_

**Me: **_All in dear time, Joco. Wait and see._

**Ren: **_So you did have me and Jeanne marry. (Groaning)_

**Jeanne: **_And you think that is bad Ren? (Frowns)_

**Ren: **_No, not really. (He mumbled softly)_

**Lyserg: **_Millie? You mean that girl who liked me back then? (Turns to me)_

**Me: **_Yep! I though you would be a good couple!_

**Anna: **_I'm liking very much at how you made Annie, Soul._

**Me: **_Thanks, Anna! (Very nervous inside when Anna spoke)_

Review!


	4. Chapter 3

I do not own any of the characters. Please review.

**HoroHoro: **_Thank god you don't._

**Me: **_(Glares at him and then grabs a mallet and brought it down hard on his head)_

**HoroHoro: **_OW!_

**Me: **_(Smirking) I dare you to say that again._

**Pilika: **_Sorry, big brother. You did deserve this. (Kneeling down by her brother who is on the ground)_

**Ren: **_Idiot. She can change who you are in her story with a snap of her fingers._

**Me: **_So true._

* * *

Chapter 3

It was around mid-afternoon when they reached Key Onsen. The place was famous for their warm and inviting hot springs. There were a lot of mountains near the town and that was where the water comes from. The town was full of people; most were heading for the relaxing hot springs. There were many hotels because a lot of people visit Key Onsen.

The group decided to spend the day resting and exploring the town and then search for the first piece tomorrow. They decided to stay at a hotel called Spring Ring. The hotel had the motto of "Start a new beginning!" everywhere. Everything was handmade with fine wood and fabric. There were pictures of flowers and animals on the light blue walls. The boys were in one room while the girls were in the other. The beds rooms had two bunk beds and an extra bed in the middle. The blankets were soft and warm. The fluffy pillows made you go to sleep within moments. The boys were discussing on how to find the remaining pieces of the Oracle Bell.

"Well there are five regions. The region we are in now is Ara. We can't go searching everywhere in the other regions because that would take a long time and the tournament starts in about eight months from now." Yuki said, laying down a map of Lyrian.

Daichi nodded. "We're going to have to travel and find the pieces fast if we want to enter."

"That might be hard, Daichi. We don't know what we are up against." Amidamaru said. "Remember, there are many who wants the title. Some will go over the line to satisfy their needs. For all we know, we could get attack at any time."

"Well, the regions Demtra, Kiki-Beno and Ara are a lot smaller than Cheki and Mirmo. We might find the pieces faster in those regions then the other two," Rei said, studying the map.

"Master Rei, we should go to a library or something," Bason said. Shamash nodded, holding his big book in front of it.

"We have to come up with some sort of strategy! Besides, we have to do some sort of test to get each piece remember?" Akira pointed out. He lay down on the soft bed, covering his face on the pillow. Corey floated near him; her lily pad was above her head.

"Man, I am really tied! All this information is giving me a headache!" Akira shouted.

"Quit complaining. At least some of us are trying to figure it out," Rei snapped.

Akira jumped up. "You know, if you were a real friend that would have hurt! But since you're not, keep talking!"

"I'll keep talking as long as it shut you up!" Rei shot back.

"You know, you should all just go to the hot springs. I already reserved one for you. I think it would do your dumb brains some good. Of course, if you have ANY brains at all," Annie leans in their doorway wearing a light red and pink kimono with flowers on it. Her blonde hair was up in a bun and a white and pink flower held it in place.

"The hot springs are very nice and warm. You really should try them out," Serena was next to her wearing a light blue and white kimono with snowflakes for a design. Her hair was also in a bun with a pair of white chopsticks to hold it up.

Daichi stared at Annie. He never seen her like this before and her being nice for them? That was really unexpected. The boys nodded and grabbed their towels. As he passed Annie at the door, he gave her a curious glance to which she looked at him with an emotionless look.

The boys stayed in the hot springs for quite some time, discussing some plans. Their guardian ghosts were also in the hot springs, relaxing (Yes, the ghosts can feel the warmth of the hot springs).

There was a certain person dressed in all black who watched them from the nearby forest. The person quickly dashed away but didn't go far. The person shouted an uncommon word and in a flash, a huge giant came to view. The giant was brown and had on black pants with a gold slash. A rather big club lay in its humongous hand. It had a curvy mustache and its blazing red eyes looked bloodthirsty. A boy was in front of it with a cruel smile on his face. A white cloak covered most of his features. Brown gloves and shoes popped out of the oversized cloak. The black person kneels down before the boy.

"Master, they don't seem to suspect anything so far," the voice was ruff and scratchy so it must have been a man.

The boy nodded. "Good, let's keep it that way." With a cruel laugh, the boy, the man and the giant all disappeared in the sky.

* * *

Back at Spring Ring, everybody was asleep except Daichi. He was out walking in the woods. He had felt a weird presence earlier but kept it to himself. It had come from around these woods and he wanted to know what it was.

The forest was quite other the sounds from the owls and the sound of crickets leaping here and there. A lot of nocturnal animals were out tonight. There was no moon tonight so he brought a lamp with him. Daichi could feel the coldness of the huge trees that were swaying in the gentle breeze. He could see the white, puffy smokes that came from the hot springs.

"Daichi, I don't think we should do this," Amidamaru told him, looking on guard.

"Relax. Besides, I know you felt it too, Amidamaru. I don't think whoever was here before is here now." Daichi assured him. Amidamaru nodded. He knew that once Daichi makes up his mind, there was no point in changing it.

Daichi soon found himself in a small clearing. He looks down and was shock to find a pair of giant footprints stamped on the ground. He went in and stepped into a footprint. It was at least three feet deep and twenty feet wide.

"This is quite unusual, Daichi. Whoever this is must be huge!" Amidamaru tensed.

Daichi frowned. This wasn't a real living thing or he would have sense it so therefore it must have been a spirit. It had to belong to somebody, but whom? He walked around the clearing, but didn't find anything unusual.

With a sigh, he started to walk back with Amidamaru casting one last glance before following him and Daichi soon bumped into Annie! He stared at her in shock.

"I sense it too." she said softly, looking at the footprints. She walked over and began to examine each footprint. Her hand brushed around the dirt. After a while, she picked something up from the ground. It was covered in dirt. She brushed the dirt away to find a piece of white fabric. Daichi came over and took the fabric and look all around but didn't find any markings. He looks at Annie and she nodded. They weren't going to tell anyone about this. Daichi told Amidamaru the plan and the Japanese samurai agreed.

They began to walk back to the hotel. When they came to their rooms, Daichi and Annie both said good-night and went into their rooms. Daichi tiptoed towards his bed. Akira was half off the bed and was snoring soundly. Charlie was hugging his pillow and kept muttering thank you over and over again. Daichi smiled as he guesses that the tan boy was dreaming of people laughing like crazy at his horrible jokes. He smirked when he saw Rei sleeping with his spear near him. That guy never trusted anybody too much. Yuki had a book near him with a bookmark in the middle of it. Daichi slipped into his bed and soon went into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next day…. "Wake up! Get your lazy butt out of that bed! If you don't get up right now, you all owe me a thousand push-ups and sit-ups as well as a hundred miles!" Annie shouted at the boys very early in the morning. It was around dawn, actually. The sun was barely up and it was a mixed color of red, orange, and yellow in the sky. Most people were still asleep but Annie wanted a head start on their search to find the first piece.

The boys immediately shot awake. Akira landed on the floor as well as Charlie. Daichi rubbed his eyes and groan. Rei scowl and Yuki rub his head.

"Annie, why so early?" Daichi complained as he look at his fiancée who had a very angry look on her face as she turn and glared at him.

"If any of you want to be the Spirit Master, then get your idiotic self out of that bed and start searching!" she shouted in a really high voice that made all of the boys winced.

"I can send you all to hell if I wanted to. Listen up or get ready to be sent to hell!" Annie held up her beads. The beads were the source of her magic and once she says the words and gets put into a trance, she can summon any soul from the afterlife or send any to hell or heaven. The beads were called the 1080 beads. It really does have 1080 beads string together and each bead contain one Asakura family member spirit. The spirits are of the Asakuras who live back then and made the family as it is now. Annie wears her beads in two layers around her neck since it is so long. When she uses them, she unties the beads from her neck and when she starts the chant, they turn as white as snow.

The boys stared at her with their mouths wide open. Rei, Yuki, Charlie and Akira gave Daichi death glares saying that it was his fault because Annie was his fiancée. He gulps and turns back to Annie.

"Move it!" Annie screamed. The boys quickly jump out of bed, put on their clothes and were out of the door before Annie could slap them.

The boys decided to split up. Daichi would search east side of town. Rei was going to search the west, Akira to the south while Charlie searches the north. Yuki offered to search the forest. The boys were to meet back at sundown in their room.

* * *

Daichi roam along the streets of Key Onsen. Amidamaru floated above and tried to look for any signs of unusual things. Daichi turn at an alley. The alley was deserted. There were pieces of garbage around and the place had a disgusting odor to it. There was dust everywhere and a bunch of torn fabric lay on the dry ground. Was there really a place like this in Key Onsen? Daichi thought. He walked down the alley and noted that there were a few street cats living here who were all eying him carefully.

"Amidamaru, what do you think of Annie?" Daichi ask his guardian ghost. Amidamaru didn't look that surprise because Yoh and Hana both asked this very question about their fiancées.

"Well, Annie is a very strong girl. She is truly the student of Miss Anna and Miss Alumi. Sometimes she is nice but other times, she can be very fearful. Don't you like her, Daichi?" Amidamaru studied his shaman partner wisely.

"I….. Well I don't really know. She really is interesting with her powers and abilities and all that, but I feel that she is hiding something from me. I may not know her well but I sense that she is holding back at things somehow." Daichi shook his head as he tried to clear his mind. He couldn't think about this now! He had to focus on finding the first piece! Amidamaru nodded and turn his head to look forward.

"Daichi! Look out!" Amidamaru suddenly cried. Daichi whipped his head up just in time to see four fast ninja stars shooting his way. He fell to the ground to avoid being hit. The stars hit an old garbage bin that lay face down in the corner of the alley. The stars were white and red and one of them had a piece of paper dangling from it. Daichi turn to face the way the stars came from but didn't see anyone in the alley. He walks over and pulls loose the piece of paper and open it. Beware of the boy who crushes, it said. He frowned. Amidamaru read it over his shoulder.

"What do you think it means, Daichi?"

"I don't know, Amidamaru. But one thing is for sure. We are in much trouble than we think we are." Daichi said slowly. "Whoever this person is, I don't think he's going to show mercy. Do you think this has something to do with that footprint we found last night?"

"I'm not sure. Like I said before, we don't know what we are up against. We must be on alert."

* * *

All too soon, it was sundown. The boys were back in their room with Annie and Serena. Daichi held up the stars and the piece of paper. He explains how the stars shot at him and what the paper said. Yuki looked over the paper and the stars. His father and grandfather were detectives as was he. If anybody could find clues on this, it was Yuki. It turns out that while Yuki was in the forest; he found a glowing light that came from a cave that was surrounded by huge stones and flowers around it that hid the entrance. The boys agreed to all go there at midnight and search for any clues in the alley Daichi found. Yuki studied the stars and paper for a long time. He did a few tests and soon sighs in defeat.

"I'm sorry guys. I can't find anything at all. Whoever sent this is like a master criminal. They would never leave anything behind for us to follow through." Yuki rested his head on the table. This was the hardest thing he ever came across that he couldn't solve. Chloe flew around him to try to cheer him up. Serena came to his side and patted his shoulder. He gave both of them a grateful smile.

Daichi was shock at the news. Yuki could solve anything for as long as he knew him. Yuki was determined to a great detective like his father and grandfather and nothing could stop him. He felt sorry for him. He was surprised of how much Serena seems to care about Yuki. He smiled at the two, suddenly knowing what was going on. Serena was different than Annie in some ways, yet they are somehow the same. Both of them made the boys ran ten miles around the town as soon as they were in site as well as have them lift a hundred pounds a thousand times before letting them have a two-minute break. The girls created a training (torture) program while the boys were out searching. This was going to happen every day when they would say at a place. When they were out traveling, it was a whole new thing that was more painful.

"Hold on a minute. We need to have a leader for this group and I think Daichi should do the honor." Yuki suddenly announced. Daichi look at him, wide eyed. _Wouldn't Yuki be a better choice for this? I mean, he is smarter than all of us,_ Daichi thought.

"Daichi, this is an amazing opportunity. You should take this offer," Amidamaru exclaim happily. Daichi eyed him carefully. Sometimes, he really didn't like to be like his father and grandfather so much. People always expect him to be like them.

"I agree." Rei said.

"WHAT?!" everybody but Annie shouted, even the guardian spirits. Annie rolls her eyes at all of them.

"You should keep your mouth shut or you will attract flies, morons." she said to the boys. "Besides, Rei being the leader is out of the question because I can tell it's not his style. I agree with Yuki. We need be organized if we want to succeed. Daichi, you better not be a total slacker or you are so dead. I expect my fiancé to be a winner, not a loser."

Everybody nodded fearfully at Annie. Daichi tried to protest that he wasn't suited for this but from the death look on Annie's face shows that no matter what he did, he would never win against her. Somehow, he didn't seem to care that he couldn't win against her. He sort of likes it. At last, he gave in and told everybody to get some rest before their midnight hunt. The rest agreed and went to their beds. They all told their guardian spirits to wake them up at around midnight or so.


	5. Chapter 4

I do not own any of the characters. Please enjoy and review! This chapter gives a bit more romance between Daichi and Annie.

**Can not talk right now because the girls are too bust torturing the boys.**

* * *

Chapter 4

Daichi soon disappeared through the door once he made sure everybody was asleep. He wanted to go to the forest again to see if the footprints are still there. Amidamaru tried to stop him because he needed to get some rest. Daichi put Amidamaru in his tablet without another word and had left him back in his room. The forest was as silent as ever. There was a crispy chill of wind that ran over him as he went out of the hotel.

He smiles grimly. He really didn't think he was fit to be a leader. He was always a slacker at these things and only wanted to fight other shamans. Sure, he and the other boys have practice fights together as part of their training but he wanted to fight an opponent that he never knew before or hasn't spent much time with.

"Going somewhere?" a voice behind him asked in a soft voice. He turn around to find Annie standing before him in a simple white robe with a red slash to held it in place. Her hair hangs loose and was damp. He caught the scent of strawberries and gave her a small smile. She didn't show it, but from the tone of her words, he could tell that she was worried about him.

He walks over and twirls a strand of her damp hair. She looks at him in surprise before frowning slightly. He chuckled and leans in closer. She could feel his breath against her. Her hand raised up to slap him but he quickly caught it and gave a smirk. She gave him a glare and tried to hold her ground. He loves to see this side of her. He noticed that she only acted like this to him and not to the others. He loves having her to himself.

He slowly lends her down the steps and into the forest. He was surprise that she follow without saying anything. He lends her back to the clearing and soon had a look of dismay on his face. Annie's hand tightens her grip around him and moves a little closer to the ground. The giant footprints were nowhere to be seen. The ground of the clearing was completely smooth with no signs of holes anywhere. He couldn't believe this.

"Daichi."

He turns towards Annie. She stares at him for a few seconds before moving her eyes back to the ground.

"We should go. We can't do anything about this so there is no point in worrying about it. Besides, it is almost midnight and leaving Amidamaru behind isn't very good when he is shouting at the others. I'm surprised that they could still sleep." she gave him a small real smile. He returned the smile and led her back to the hotel.

* * *

By the time they got back to the hotel, everybody was up and was waiting. Rei look up and saw Daichi and Annie approaching. Amidamaru flew over to Daichi, panicked.

"Daichi, how could you leave me?!" Amidamaru shouted. "Something could have happen to you!" he then sigh. "But then, you are as stubborn as your father and grandfather. Nothing would change your mind anyway." the Japanese samurai shook his head and smile at his master. Daichi grin. He knew Amidamaru would understand.

"Are we going to go or not?" Annie said coldly.

The rest of the group nodded and they started to head towards the part of the forest where Yuki saw the light. It wasn't far from the hotel. They soon arrived at the far west part of the forest. Fresh, green trees surrounded the clearing. The ground was smooth, too smooth as if it was like this for a purpose. An oval shape cave was covered by huge stone boulders that were stack upon each other. The stones were perfectly carved with master skill. There were strange markings around the edges of each stone. The markings were all the same except for a single message that was carved into the very middle stone that held the rest. There were flowers around the stones as well. Through the gaps of the stone walls, there was indeed a bright light making its way as if it wants to come out, but is sealed away.

Daichi became instantly tensed as soon as they entered the clearing. Using the power of the Spirit Of Earth, he could sense a massive amount of energy that runs through that cave. He could feel the low rumbling as the earth around it shook. Daichi grip his sword tightly. He looks around and saw that everybody else had become tense as well. He walks over and began to feel the stone in the middle. The stone was very smooth and fresh, but that was impossible! These are the ancient markings of the Patch Tribe. These stones are over 10, 0000 years old! He frowns.

"Somebody is keeping those stones alive," Rei said, coming up behind him. Yuki was examining the message carefully. Akira and Serena were checking out the cave while Charlie looks around for any signs.

"Those who wish to be in the fight shall past this simple test. Those who fail will surrender their spirit to the "Holy Volt". Those who pass will get what they desire." Annie read the message easily. They all look at her, dumbfound.

"How can you read this?!" the boys shouted. Their hands were up in the air as they gaped at her. Serena sighs and gave a small smile.

"Annie was trained by Alumi as one of her mentors. Alumi is part of the Patch Tribe that is here today. She would have indeed known about the Patch Tribe. I am surprise that she also taught you to read the language of the Patch. I don't suppose you know how to speak it too?" Serena asked. Annie nodded.

"Man, I am sick of all of these tests and stuff! I want some action!" Akira shouted. He jump up and grab his snowboard. He attaches the snowboard to his shoes.

"Corey! Fusion!" He quickly put Corey into his snowboard. The snowboard shines blue and soon has markings from the tribe that Akira and Serena was born in. The tribe's name was Ainu. Cold air surrounded him.

"Icicle Spike!" he shouted. A giant icicle came out of his snowboard. He delivered a smashing hit on the middle stone. It blast into pieces and fell dead to the ground. There was a loud rumble as one by one, the stones collapse and a blinding light erupted out of the cave. The group covered their eyes.

After a moment, the boys were hit by some unknown force. They were slam into the nearby trees. Daichi clutch his stomach and turn his head towards the cave. _What the heck was that?_ Daichi thought. He stood up and looks around at the others. They were all fine. _Thump, thump._ Daichi whip his head towards the light.

A person came walking out of the cave. He stood seven feet tall. He wore the cape of the Patch Tribe. A feather headdress was on top of his head and on his face was a strange marking written on his right cheek. His black hair floated in the wave of air that just occurred. His sharp eyes look directly at Daichi.

"So, you wish to gain a piece do you not?" the man's voice was bold and was fill with confidence.

"Who are you?" Rei raise his spear at the man. Bason was in the spear already. The man didn't flinch at the sharpness of the spear or how close it was next to him.

"I am Taki. I am part of the Patch Tribe." the man replied. "I am also the guardian of a piece to build your Oracle Bell. Those who pass my test would be able to get the piece. Those who failed will give up their soul to me and I will feed it to the Great Spirit. So will you take the test or not? Come on, chop chop. I don't have all day."

The boys nodded. Taki smiled and pull out a few pieces of rice and five paintbrushes. They all look at him, confused.

"I want you to write the person you cherish most on a grain of rice." he said.

"What?!"

"Um, write on it?" Akira asked.

"I don't know if you know this, but grains of rice are tiny!" Charlie pointed out. The rest nodded.

"You can do it. You just need to focus." Taki responded. He handed them each a brush and a small white grain of rice. _Cherish most?_ Daichi smile and began writing a certain person's name down. It was hard but somehow all of them were able to do it. Taki held the grains of rice in his palm.

"Good. Now, the real test will begin." As he said those last words, he threw the grains of rice into the forest. The wind carried them far into the vast wilderness. The boys watch as their hard work flew farther and farther away from them. They stood; dumbfound wondering 'what was the point of writing on that grain of rice?!'

"Now, go find your grain of rice." Taki said.

"What?!" They shouted at him, in shock. He just nod and waved them towards the dark forest. The boys sign in defeat and start walking to the forest. Rei and Daichi tried focusing their powers on their grain of rice. Charlie use Mic's great sense of smell while Akira ride low to the ground on his snowboard and was looking at every inch. Yuki walk around and had Chloe fly up to search the trees.

"Focus, focus." Rei mutter. Bason and Shamash floated beside him. Daichi tried to focus but soon he end up falling asleep!

"Daichi! Wake up!" Amidamaru yelped. Annie stomps up and smacks him in the head. He gave a startled cry and rubbed his head.

"Wake up! You are on a test! Quit slacking off!" She ordered. He nodded slightly and went back to focusing his mental energy on the grain of rice.

"Spirit Of Earth, help me in my need." he mumbled. Daichi soon became surrounded by the Earth Spirit. The others saw him and did the same thing with their spirit. Taki came up and nod at their progress. Annie and Serena stood back. The boys soon fell into a trance. One by one, they link out and let the elemental spirits take over.

"This is good. Since they process the elemental spirits, it is wise that they learn to use them. This is a good opportunity to use those powers. Daichi has the most advantage because he has the Spirit Of Earth." Taki said. Annie and Serena nodded.

Suddenly, both of them fell to their kneels. They both clutch their sides and began screaming out in pain. Taki rush over. He gasps when he saw dragon spirits above the two girls that were trying to keep their breathing level. One dragon was a fiery red with orange and yellow markings all along its long body. The other was green and brown and had a massive aurora around it. The red belongs to Serena while the other belongs to Annie. Taki knew that the girls never knew of these spirits. They must have taken over them somehow. A thought suddenly occur to him. The dragon spirit that was green and brown had the same color and aurora as the Spirit Of Earth and the red dragon spirit was the same as the Spirit Of Fire.

"Miss Annie!" Amidamaru shouted as all of the guardian ghosts watch the two dragons that were above the two girls. Chloe and Corey floated next to Serena, worried for the blue-haired girl.

_What does this mean?_ Taki thought. _They have the same spirit as Daichi and Yuki but in dragon form. The energy of those dragons felt like only a fraction of the elemental spirits power. How could the elemental spirits have broken apart? More importantly, why those two? If the Spirit Of Earth and the Spirit Of Fire have been broken apart, then the others must have broken apart too. But who are the other people who carried the dragon spirits of the elemental spirits?_

There was a sudden rush of wind and the boys slowly got up and began to walk to various parts of the forest. The girls soon fell to the ground when Yuki and Daichi left. They lay unconscious on the ground. Taki felt their pulses and was relieved that they were still alive but their power was drained. He must report this to the tribe as soon as possible. The elemental spirits must be whole once again. He had to get help to find the rest of the dragon spirits.

* * *

The boys soon came back and each of them held a grain of rice in their palms. The elemental spirits came out and disappeared. Daichi open his eyes to see Taki with a grave look on his face. His eyes flicker at the two girls that lay unconscious at the ground. The other boys saw as well.

"Well? What happen when we were gone?" Daichi's eyes were cold now towards Taki. Amidamaru flew in and block Taki. Daichi narrow his eyes at his ghost.

"Daichi! You are wrong!" Amidamaru shouted. The rest of the spirits nodded and flew in front of Taki. "When all of you went into a trance, Serena and Annie began screaming out in pain and then there was these two dragon spirits that came out within them!"

"Dragon spirits?!" the boys exclaimed. Dragon spirits were very powerful. Some say that they were only rumors and legends. Daichi never quite believe it, but is there really dragon spirits?

"Those are only legends!" Charlie said. Mic came over and shook its furry head. Charlie stared in shock at his ghost.

"Bason! Shamash! Is this true?!" Rei ask his ghosts. They both nodded.

Daichi turn towards Taki. The Patch Tribe member nodded his head slowly. Daichi walked over and knelt besides Annie. He picked her up in his arms while Yuki did the same for Serena. He began to walk back to the hotel. The others followed along with Taki. As soon as Daichi and Yuki laid the two girls on their beds, Daichi turn towards Taki.

"Talk." he said, quite calmly. Taki walk over and took a seat on one of the chairs.

"It all happen the moment all of you went into a trance." Taki began. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the two dragon spirits above them. My guess is that they didn't know that they had these spirits in them. Controlling dragons is extremely difficult and dangerous to do. If one has a weak mind, they will perish in the dragon's hands. Nobody knows how much power a dragon has. And even worst, the girls have elemental dragon spirits." One by one, the boys raise their eyebrows at this.

"But I thought that we have the elemental spirits and that there was no other spirits like ours!" Charlie protested.

Taki rest his head in his hands. "There most weird thing is that those dragons had the same aurora as Daichi and Yuki's spirits."

"What?!" Daichi and Yuki exclaimed. Their eyes quickly shifted to the now sleeping girls.

"That is true. Chloe and I saw them." Amidamaru said. Chloe nodded.

"What about the rest of us?" Rei asked.

"Yeah! That's right! Don't we have dragon spirits too?" Akira jump up from his spot on the floor.

"When did you get your elemental spirits?' Taki suddenly asked.

"On our first birthday." Daichi replied. The boys were all born on the same day.

"Yes, that was when we all met each other." Yuki piped up.

"It was also the day when they got all of us." Bason said. The other guardian ghosts smiled, remembering the day they had been given to their new shamans.

Taki nodded, suddenly understanding what was going on. "All of you were too young to control the spirits, so they must have broken a fraction of themselves and planted it into another person. Those fractions must have turn into dragons."

The boys look at one another. "Does this mean we have to find the people who carry part of our spirits?"

Taki nodded. "You must find them soon; the elemental spirits must be whole again. I will report this to the Patch Tribe. Continue on your journey and look out for the person who has your spirits. Since you are all boys, the dragons must be in all girls."

Taki look over at Daichi and Yuki. "Did you two feel anything different when you are around them?"

"Well, I did think that there was some kind of magic I didn't know inside of Annie." Daichi rubbed his head. "She seems different then any other girl I ever met."

"I felt like something was drawing me towards Serena." Yuki said slowly.

"Then that means that you could somehow sense something from the dragon spirits. This will help you find them. Remember they are girls." Taki said towards Rei, Akira, and Charlie. They all nodded.

Taki stood up and handed each boy a small pouch in their hands. Each pouch was a different color, but all of them had the same ancient marking sew into the soft leather pouch. A small ribbon was to knot the pouch and attach to the ribbon was a small golden bell that jingles as the pouch move. Daichi's was orange, Yuki's was green, Charlie's was yellow, Akira's was blue and Rei's was red. The boys open them to find two pieces for their Oracle Bell. There was a small computer-like screen and a gold bell. The boys look at Taki, confused. Weren't they only supposed to get only one item?

"I'm giving you two because the guardian that was protecting the bell piece died one day when a shaman came to get his piece. A mere boy kill my friend in the Mirmo region. I now carried his piece too until we can train a new guardian." there was a look of pain on Taki's face before he shook his head to try to erase the memory.

_A boy?_ Daichi thought. The note came back to him. _Beware of the boy who crushes. What does that mean?_ He quickly pulls out the note and hand it to Taki. The Patch Tribe member looks at it before narrowing his eyes. He asks Daichi how he got this so Daichi told him about the alley and the ninja stars. Taki began muttering to himself before he said that he had to leave right away. Before he went out, he told them that they should tell the girls about his and that they must protect the girl that has their dragon spirit at all costs.

After a while, Annie and Serena woke up. The boys quickly fill them in and then they decided to leave to Demtra. The girls were surprised at the news. Annie had Daichi's spirit and Serena had Yuki's.

"This journey just got interesting." Annie muttered. Daichi smiled. He was glad that she was okay. _She's right. We have a whole new challenge,_ he thought. They set out that morning and began making their way to Demtra.


	6. Chapter 5

I do not own any of the characters. Please enjoy and review.

* * *

Chapter 5

Daichi jump up with his sword fired up with his mana as well as Amidamaru and slam down on Rei. Mana was the amount of power a shaman has. Rei quickly use his spear to block the force. He flung Daichi off and Daichi landed smoothly on the ground. Rei quickly appear out of nowhere in front of Daichi. "Minagi Blast!" Rei shouted and a mass of very sharp weapons appeared out of thin air. They headed straight at Daichi. He didn't even flinch and smiled. Amidamaru quickly turn into a shield and blocked the attack. They both smirk and watch the other one carefully as if daring them to attack first.

Meanwhile, Akira and Yuki were having their own practice fight. Yuki's crystal pendulum shot out of its case. A very long black wire was attached to the crystal pendulum. Chloe was inside the crystal pendulum. Yuki has train with it for years so he could control the wire with speed, power and accuracy. Akira had ace his skills with his snowboard and could ride in the sky with it as one of its skills. Yuki's pendulum wraps itself around Akira. Akira quickly rode the cold air and jump out of reach. The pendulum gain speed and came closer and closer. Akira spun around; making a small blizzard that surrounds him. The pendulum halts and went back to Yuki. Akira waited for he knew that this was Yuki's strategy to let his opponent lose his guard.

"Come on, guys! When is it my turn yet?!" Charlie complains from the sidelines.

The gang was at a large grassy field. The sun was out and there were no dark cloud in the light-blue sky. There was a soft breeze that floated in everybody's faces. The fresh green trees sway gently to the wind. There were a few large boulders that spread out on the field. They were near Seaside Village, a small village near the southern coast of the Demtra region.

Annie kicks Charlie from his spot on a smooth rock near the others. "Pipe down! They don't need you complaining. It's really annoying, so shut up."

"Don't worry. You'll get to fight soon," Serena said sweetly. The practice fights were all of the girls' doing to train the boys. _It could have been worse,_ the boys all thought.

"Get away from me!" a girl scream from nearby in the trees.

The boys quickly look at each other, nodded and ran towards the voice with Annie and Serena following. They follow the sound and soon came to a gashing waterfall. The water was roaring loudly and there was a steep cliff near the edge.

In the middle was a girl about their age and a gang of three older, larger boys. The girl was slowly backing away from the boys. One was them was thinner than the others but had a very long chain with sharp edges all along the silver chain. The other two had huge muscles along their bodies and they were each carrying a meat knife.

The girl had long straight raven hair that was tied into a side ponytail and was held back by a silver headband. She had a long bang that was loose on the other side of her ponytail. She wore white shorts with dark purple leggings underneath. She had on a purple with white stripes shirt with an open sleeveless mini-jacket that hang loose and purple and white shoes. There was a loose belt that hung from her waist with a small silver hook near her right hip. She was holding her arm and the group could see blood running down her arm from their hiding spot behind some wide bushes.

"Listen, girl. We ask nicely for you to come with us, but you didn't listen." the skinner one smirk and came closer to the girl. "Without your ghost or your whip, what can you do against us?" They all laugh evilly. A long silver whip with a midnight blue handle was wrap around the skinner one's neck.

Daichi and the others look at each other. The girl was a shaman as well as those three boys?! They turn to look closer and soon could see the boys' mana coming out of their weapons, but where was the girl's?

"No way am I going with you three clowns!" the girl yelled, a glare show from her violet eyes. "I wouldn't let you jerks just use my body as you like! Idiots!"

_She's quite tough,_ Rei thought. He suddenly smirks. _She is one heck of a girl to still have her guard up even if they have the advantage._

The two bigger boys suddenly lung at the girl. She barely jumps out of reach in time before they crash into her. She slips and lost her balance, making her fall onto the ground. She yells out in pain when her injured arm made contact with the rock hard floor. All three boys were soon walking towards her with evil smirks on their faces.

Perverts, Annie thought.

"Well, well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in." the skinner one slyly said. He seems to be the leader of this gang.

"Indeed, you should. The cat also dragged in some extras," Rei was in front of them like lightning and was holding her spear in their faces. The girl's eyes widen at Rei and his spear. Daichi and the others came out of hiding. The girl gaped at the sight of their ghosts.

_They're shamans?_ She thought.

Rei smirk. "You're a disgrace to shamans, you know?"

The leader gulps and tried glare at Rei. "Who are you? Why do you care what happens to the girl, anyways? You probably don't even know her."

Rei raise an eyebrow at the older boy. "You're right, I don't know her." he admitted. There was a flicker of hope in the older boy's eyes. "But, why does that matter again?" Rei ask.

The older boys fell anime-style. "If you don't know her, then don't help her!" they yelled, trying to make some sense into him. He looked at them blankly.

_Is he stupid or what?_ The girl thought. _Is he trying to make me look like a poor girl crying for help?_ Anger rose in the girl, swift and hot. _Well, I never ask for his help so he can be on his way!_ She rose to her feet. "Look, this is my fight so don't get in the way!" she hisses.

Rei turn his head and smirk. "It sure looks like you could use some help."

She growl at him angrily. "I don't need your help." she repeated forcefully.

Rei held a hand towards her. "Hang on a second, okay?" Rei jump up and aim his spear on the older boys. "Minagi Blast!" he yell and just like before, sharp weapons of all shapes and sizes came shooting down. They narrowly miss the trio who was holding their heads and crying out for their mommy. Eyes filled with fear, the three boys ran as fast as they could out into the trees. The girl's whip lay on the ground. She quickly grabs it and check for damage.

"Pathetic," Rei scoff. He had hope for a better battle, but to no such luck. Bason came out of his spear.

Daichi laugh. "Rei, nobody besides the people you know will give you a fight you would call well."

The girl stood up and glare at Rei. "I could have handled it myself, thank you very much."

Rei smirk and face the girl. "Is that really how you treat someone when they just saved you?"

"I didn't ask for your help, jerk!" she shot back, holding her whip in front of her.

Rei pointed his spear at her. She halted, but after a moment, she glares at him. Meanwhile, the others were all watch with interest. Rei never paid this much attention to a girl before. Daichi and Akira smirk, Yuki smiled and Charlie tried to hold back laughter.

"Hold it right there!" in a flash, a tall ninja girl jump out and was in front of the raven haired girl. Rei lower his spear and swung it over his shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the ninja girl yelled. The others' eyes widen at the ninja girl. Rei had a blank look. Their eyes flicker back and forth between the girl and the ninja. They all sense that the ninja girl was dead but her soul and body was still moving. That means that the girl is a dàoshì. A dàoshì is a spell caster. They awake the dead to do their bidding. Some choose to control the souls while others leave it be and work with them.

"This is my ghost. Her name is Akane Mir Kato." the girl explains.

"What happen when I was gone?" Akane asked. The girl looks at her ghost and strung. The ninja girl fell anime-style. "You were there! And why are all of these people here?! What happen to your arm?" Akane bent down and was examining the girl's bleeding arm.

"I'm fine, Akane. It's not too bad." the girl stubbornly took her arm away. Rei walk over and took her arm. She tried to pull it away, but he had a very strong grip. He walk her over to Annie with Akane following them along with Bason and Shamash.

"Daichi told me you're good at medicine. Could you fix her?" Rei asked. Annie merely nodded and led the girl away with Akane and Serena following.

* * *

"So, what happen to you?" Rei asked while sharpening his spear.

Night had fallen not too long ago and the group was around the camp fire that was close to the waterfall. Daichi had a weird feeling about places that look so peaceful in day, but dangerous at night. All of the boys were teasing Rei earlier that day while Annie had tended the girl's arm. When he finally lost it, Rei sank his spear into the ground. A split opening fell upon the ground and swords and spears shot out. The other boys were lock in by the weapons.

The girl's arm was bandaged and she was sitting quietly away from the group with Akane. Rei was sitting on a stump near her. He was the only one that was near her. The others were a couple of feet away from the girl because they didn't know if she and her ghost were trustworthy or not.

The girl looks at him with her violet eyes. "I was traveling until I met those freaks. Akane always goes into a trance every few weeks. It's her way of getting rid of useless energy and filling herself up with power. She couldn't help me then. They took away my whip." she replied while holding up her silver whip in front of her.

"Traveling? Where?"

"I'm trying to find somebody who will help me with my dream." Her head lower and her bangs cover her face.

"Dream?" Rei asked, turning his attention to the girl.

Shamash whacks him in the head. "Ow! What was that for?!" Rei shouted at Shamash who was pointing to something in his big book. Rei stared at what the book said. _Be polite to others. Don't say something they might not want to discuss,_ it said. _Crud,_ Rei thought. His grandmother wanted him to learn some manners from Shamash. Too bad, he never would pay attention to the lessons.

"You know about the Spirit Tournament, right?" When Rei nodded, she continues. "Girls aren't allowed to enter the tournament, only boys can. The Patch Tribe wants a powerful king to rule the world, not some girl. Where I come from, we need help to fight off the people who betrayed our people. Where I come from, we have an arch enemy. The two sides have battle endlessly for centuries. But, what I really want is to have peace between the two sides. I don't want to fight anymore. Many people have died because of this, can't people try to be at peace with each other?" a single tear drop came out of her violet eyes. Rei gulped. He mess up, bad. Shamash gave him a look.

By now, the others were also listening to her story as well. Rei close his eyes before opening them again. They sat in silence for a while.

"I have heard of this." Rei said. "Those two sides are kingdoms, aren't they?" The girl nodded. "By the looks of you, you went to do this by yourself without telling anyone?"

The girl's head quickly shot up. She stares at him in disbelief. "How did you….. How did you know?" she stood up. Rei remain calmly on his stump.

"I don't, but you just confirm that I was right." he smirk at her. She glare at him and unravel her whip.

"Are you one of those people who are trying to take me back?" she growled.

"Calm down!" Akane tried to hold her back.

"I don't even know you. Like I said, I only heard of this. I've never been in your war." Rei stood up with his spear over his shoulder. "I'm Rei Tao. These are my two guardian spirits, Bason and Shamash."

The girl seems to be taken back by the introduction. She narrows her eyes. "Lexi. Lexi Dream."

The others came up and smiled at her. "Hey, I'm Daichi Asakura. That's Amidamaru there." He pointed to the Japanese samurai. Amidamaru nodded.

"Annie Heartfilia."

"Hi! I'm Serena Usui and that is my brother, Akira Usui. His ghost is Corey." Serena pointed to her big brother who grins because to him, Lexi was cute.

"I'm Yuki Diethel. My ghost's name is Chloe."

"I'm Charlie McDonell. Did you hear about this joke? Why did the chicken cross the road to a sea of lily pads?" He gave her a moment. "Because it was fish bait!" The air became cold all of the sudden at the punch line of the joke. Nobody got it. Annie slap Charlie and Rei and Akira sent him flying only to come back landing on the ground. Lexi giggled at the way they were all acting. The others smiled. Akane smiled gratefully at the sight of Lexi laughing. _She hasn't laugh like this in so long,_ Akane thought.

"Friends are good to have, aren't they?" Amidamaru said to Akane.

She nodded. "Always protect your friends. They are your path to your dream."

Rei turn to face Daichi. "Well? Should she join us or not?" Lexi stared at Daichi.

Daichi grin. "Anybody who could make Rei act like this is a really good person! Besides, it will be nice for Annie and Serena to have another girl, right?" At this, he turns to the girls. They both nodded. "You're also a nice person. More importantly, I never seen Rei pay this much attention to a girl before!" A sly smirk came up on Daichi's face. The other boys quickly understand and smirk.

Rei's eyes narrow at his childhood friends. "What are you implying?" He raises his spear. Daichi just grin and held up his hands in defense. Rei glare at them before lowering his spear and turning back to Lexi.

"The idiot says yes."

Lexi nodded and smiled gratefully at the others. She bows. "I'll try to help as much as I can! You can count on me!" she exclaim cheerfully.

_She's like a princess,_ they all thought.

Before she fell asleep though, Lexi laid her blanket next to Rei's. His back was away to her as she lay down softly. "Thank you, Rei. Even if you are an arrogant jerk, I'm glad you help me." she whispered softly so only he could hear her and soon drifted into a dreamless sleep. Rei open his eyes a bit and smile his first real small smile.

Sleep soon came upon all of them and they drifted off into peaceful slumber.


	7. Chapter 6

I do not own any of the chararcters. Please enjoy and review.

**Ren: **_I hope my grandson isn't weak._

**Me: **_(Rolls eyes) Relax, Ren. Rei will be arguing with Lexi for a while._

**Jeanne: **_I hope they will get along._

**Yoh: **_There's got to be a twist in this story right?_

**Me: **_Oh, yeah! An evil person will some soon. Very soon._

**Lyserg: **_In this chapter?_

**Me: **_Pretty much._

**HoroHoro: **_You said that they would come soon and then you tell us exactly when the evil person will come in? Wow._

**Me: **_Geez, HoroHoro. You're going to read it anyway._

* * *

Chapter 6

"So this is Seaside Village?" Daichi said. Seaside Village was a distant village near the coast. They could see the ocean as far as the eye could see. The village also had a very popular resort called Star Resort. The fastest way to get to Seaside Village was to take the bullet train, Hikari Mina. There were many people on the beach, enjoying the fresh sea air and the clear waters. There was beach volleyball games spend out on the sandy place as well as barbecues with hot, juicy meat cooking up. They could see many children laughing in the sun as they splash waves of refreshing water at each other.

"Wow! So this is the ocean!" Lexi exclaim, her violet eyes shining with excitement. She had her hands clasp together as she look towards the ocean. Lexi had only joined them a few days back, but she had been a big help. She had all kinds of information and Akane, her ghost have been a big help when searching for anyone who came near them. She had good housing skills and she got along greatly with Annie and Serena as well as the boys. Rei and Lexi still fight with each other a lot. She still remains a tomboy. Akira had tried to flirt with her, but she completely trashed him with a single sweep of her silver whip. But the mysterious thing about her was that she would never tell the name of the kingdom she was from and what region she lives in before she had started traveling.

Rei came up beside her. "You've never been to the ocean before?" She shook her head. Rei stare at her for a moment before turning to Daichi. Daichi smile as he knew what his best friend want him to do. Though he never would have admit it, Daichi could tell that Rei wanted to show Lexi more of the world because it seems that she never went to a lot of places in her whole life.

"Well, since we are at a beach resort and the tournament is still a long way to go, why don't we stick around for a while and have fun? Lexi, you should try to enjoy the ocean." he said, grinning. The others nodded.

"But, I don't want to be a bother!" Lexi protested.

"What's the matter? Afraid of the water? Or are you afraid I could totally beat you in beach volleyball?" Rei smirk.

Lexi was flame with anger. "Bring it on, you arrogant jerk! I could beat you anytime!" The two stood glaring at each other. You could see lightning being shot out by their eyes at each other. The others shook their heads at the way those two were acting. Daichi sigh. _He'll never change._

* * *

"That wouldn't have been a draw if you didn't have dumb luck on your side!" Rei shouted.

The volleyball game had just ended a few hours ago and the gang was in the girls' room after taking showers, talking or more like yelling between of Rei and Lexi. The match was between Rei, Daichi and Akira against Lexi, Annie and Serena. The match ended in a draw, 10-10.

They were all wearing robes from the hotel that they were staying at and there was the smell of damp hair in the air. The hotel they were staying at was called "Summer Sunshine". Everything in the hotel was bright and refreshing. The main colors of the hotel were yellow and blue. There were a lot of real seashells on top of desks and tables. A beautiful painting shows the ocean during sunset that hangs in the main lobby.

"You're the one who had dumb luck!" Lexi shot back.

"You barely made it!"

"Take that back, dimwit!"

"Why should I?!"

"Please! Stop fighting!" Bason, Akane and Shamash tried to calm the down, but Rei and Lexi brush them off. The two were glaring daggers at each other.

"You guys sure like each other." Annie said, she was reading a book that the hotel provided on her place on a well carved wooden desk near the huge glass window that gave off a glorious view of the ocean. Lexi blush and Rei had an annoyed look on his face but you could see a dusty pink on his cheeks. They both look away from each other.

Daichi smile at Annie. She knew exactly what to do to stop the arguing. He and Annie haven't fought like Rei and Lexi in a long time. He didn't mind it through. He was glad that they were getting along and soon Rei and Lexi will to. Although, he did wonder why Rei wanted Lexi to join them in the first place if they were just gonna argue 24/7? He was going to ask Rei about this later.

* * *

"I can't believe her!" Rei shouted as he pop down on the bed. He cross his arms and wore a scowl on his face. "She totally lost! She should have admitted it!"

The boys were back in their own room now after being kicked out by the girls.

"Master Rei, you should calm down." Bason said. Shamash nodded.

"Hey, Rei? I want to ask you something." Daichi said, his face was serious.

Rei looked over at Daichi. He raises his eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Why did you want Lexi to join us?" Daichi asked. "We hardly knew her at all at the time. You would never let anybody join us like that. You never trust anybody much, not even us and we have been with you all your life!"

"Not all." Charlie pointed out. They ignore him.

"Yeah, why did you?" Yuki ask.

"That is strange." Akira said.

Rei was silent for a moment. His bangs brush over his face. "Remember how Taki said about finding the girls who had our spirits?" They all nodded. "Well, I felt a weird aura from her that felted like mine."

Daichi's eyes widen. "You think she has the dragon Spirit Of Thunder?" Rei nodded.

Silence wash upon them. "Oh, man! Why does he get to have Lexi?!" Akira whines.

Rei shot him a glare. "What do you mean I get to have her?"

"Well, Taki did say that we had to protect the girl who holds our spirits in them in dragon form." Yuki said.

Daichi smirk. "That means that if Lexi does have your spirit, you have to protect her! And, like Annie said so earlier, you might end up falling for her!" He laughs out loud. The others join in. Rei scowl.

"Whatever." he scoffs. "How can we know for sure?"

"Amidamaru." Daichi said looking at his ghost.

"Yes?" Amidamaru asked.

"Didn't Taki say that the dragon spirit would respond to the spirit they belong to?" he asked. Amidamaru nodded.

"You want to try that?" Rei asked.

"Master! The girls became unconscious after the dragon spirits show up and then left them." Bason said. Rei closed his eyes.

"Bason, I want you and Shamash to go bring Akane here. I need to talk to her." Rei ordered. They nodded and disappeared.

* * *

"Why are we here for?" Lexi ask Rei. The two were near the huge rocks at the edge of the beach. Dusk had fallen and the night sky was showered with bright stars. The waves were loud as they crash onto the rocks. After Rei had explained everything to Akane, she had let him take Lexi with him to find out if she had his spirit. The others were actually nearby, covered by the rocks watching Rei and Lexi. Bason, Shamash and Akane were watching their shaman partners carefully behind the rocks.

"Do you know of the elemental spirits?" Rei asked as a breeze came over them.

She nodded. "They're the most powerful spirits, right? They're part of nature and are guarded by the Patch."

"Was guarded by the Patch." Rei said. Lexi's eyes widen a bit.

"What do you mean?"

"My grandfather, as well as Daichi's, Yuki's, Akira's and Charlie's were all given the five elemental spirits by the Patch people. On our first birthday, those spirits were given to us."

Lexi gasp and she put her hand over her mouth. "You can't be serious!"

Rei nodded. "We should have told you earlier. But now, I want to test something." As he said that, he summons the Spirit Of Thunder and it stood right there before a very surprise Lexi.

Suddenly, a rush of pain came over her and she fell to her knees. She closed her eyes tightly as she bit her lip to stop herself from screaming out. Rei watch as a dragon spirit came out and floated above Lexi. The dragon was a thunder yellow and it had a vicious look. It had a sharp tail and razor claws. It indeed had the same aurora as the Spirit Of Thunder. The others were gaping at the dragon.

All too soon, the dragon disappears back into Lexi and she lay down on the ground, unconscious when Rei sent his spirit away.

"Ha, ha. That really was quite interesting." a voice said. They quickly turn to face the voice to find a smiling boy about their age. The boy was sitting on one of the tall rocks and his long white cloak was hiding his features.

"Who are you?" Rei ask, pointing his spear at the boy.

The boy laughs. "Sorry, I didn't mean any trouble." a huge giant appear behind the boy and brought down the huge black club onto the sandy beach. The club made a splitting on the ground. Rei quickly swoop up Lexi and jump out of the way before the ground split. He drops Lexi with Akane.

"It's not nice to be impolite, Rei Tao." the boy said. Rei's eyes narrow. _How did he know Rei?_ Daichi thought. By the look on Rei's face, he could tell that Rei didn't know either.

Akira jump out of hiding. "Ice make. Cannon!" he shouted. An ice cannon appear and Akira shot a blast of ice and snow at the boy. The giant held up its hand and blocked the attack. It then punch Akira in the stomach and slam him into a nearby rock.

"Like I said, I'm not looking for trouble, Akira Usui." the boy turn to look at Daichi. He smiled. "Continue to grow your powers, Daichi Asakura. As the heir to the Asakuras, you have a lot of responsibly. Soon all of you will serve me as the future ruler, Keir," with that being said, the boy disappears into the night sky leaving the gang very confused.

* * *

**Yoh: **_Isn't this the same thing Hao did when we met him? (Hao is Yoh's twin brother and he was an evil shaman)_

**Me: **_Yeah._


	8. Chapter 7

I do not own any of the characters. Please enjoy and review!

**Chocolove (Joco): **_Anybody to laugh at the jokes yet? My grandson's jokes are funny!_

**Me: **_Next chapter._

**Anna: **_What's this chapter about?_

**Me: **_Um, uh, I really want to tell you, but you have to wait? (Preparing for Anna's rage)_

**Anna: **_(Shrugging) Oh well. It won't matter._

**Me: **_(Thinking inside="I'm still alive!")_

* * *

Chapter 7

It had been five days since they left the resort. Akira had recovered from his injury though, he was pretty mad about Keir. Lexi was told what had happen but to their surprise, she didn't seem too upset that she had Rei's spirit. The group was head to Scarlet Town, a beautiful town where there was a legend from centuries ago about a large scarlet hidden away somewhere in the town. The people of the town protect it since a lot of greedy miners that wanted the precious jewel to themselves.

_What was going on that night?_ Daichi kept asking himself the same question ever since Keir showed up. _How did he know us? Could he have been the person that had dropped the piece of white fabric that Annie and I found? Keir did have a giant as his ghost. The giant could have been the one who made those giant footprints!_ Daichi stole a glance at Annie. She had her eyes close as she walks as if she was thinking about something. He had absolutely no idea how she was able to do that. Suddenly, she opens her eyes and chocolate-brown met sea-green. He gave her a small smile to which she gave him an emotionless look back.

They were in the desert north of Scarlet Town. There was sand as far as one's eyes' could see. Cactuses were spending out in the vast land. Tumble weeds bounded in the soft breeze that came every so often. Everybody was moving along fine, but due to the sun's rays, they went slower than they could have. The group would reach Scarlet Town by tomorrow night at the rate they were moving.

"How do you think that guy knows us?" Rei was now beside him.

Daichi shrugged. "I don't know. He had a ghost so that must mean he is in the tournament." he said slowly. "But he said that he would be the future ruler. Do you think he means the Spirit Master?"

"Keir as the ruler? No way because I'm going to win." Rei smirk. Daichi grin.

"Yeah right. You know there are many people who want to win that they would do anything in their power to succeed?" Daichi pointed out.

"You think that would stop me?"

"No, but at least I tried."

"You didn't succeed."

"I never say I would."

"Good, because if you tried to stop me, you're dead for life." Rei grin evilly.

"I plan to keep on living." Daichi simply said.

"To marry that fiancée of yours?" Rei smirk.

Daichi smirk back. "What about you? Got Lexi to like you yet?"

Rei growls. "Laugh it up." Daichi chuckled.

The girls were behind the boys, talking among themselves.

"I can't believe I miss that when that jerk came!" Lexi exclaim, her hands went up in the air. The girls were talking about Keir. "Rei had to find out if I had a spirit!"

"Just who does Keir think he is?" Serena asked. Annie nodded silently.

_I wonder if Daichi thinks that the white fabric we found belongs to Keir?_ Annie thought. _I felt a different kind of spirit power from him than normal spirits. His oversoul is really different._ An oversoul is when a shaman fuses his spirit with an object that the spirit is familiar with. You can create your oversoul many times as long as you still have mana. You can change your oversoul in many ways. Once you lose all of your mana, you can't create your oversoul and you will lose in a shaman fight.

At nightfall, the gang decided to take a break and get some rest to get an early start on the next day. Yuki made them a small campfire that glowed in the darkness. Beautiful shining stars came out. You could see the long spray of stars that form the Milky Way. The group discussed about what they were going to do and such.

"I think we should focus in getting our pieces for our Oracle Bell instead of worrying about Keir." Rei said, crossing his arms. Daichi nodded.

"He's powerful, all right. We hardly know anything about him. Our best option is to continue on our journey."

"There's no sense in worrying about it." Annie said.

"Lady Annie is correct. We should focus on our main mission before anything else." Amidamaru said, his face was serious.

"Master, Amidamaru is right." Bason and the other guardian spirits agreed.

"Hey, after we find the piece to this region, where will you go next?" Lexi asked, curiously. Everybody turn to Daichi.

He shrugs. "I don't know. Let's just see what going to happen here first."

"We should get some rest." Amidamaru said. Daichi nodded and everybody went to their blankets.

Daichi lay staring at the night sky. He wonders what will soon come before them. He smile and close his eyes. He'll find out soon enough.

* * *

"So this is Scarlet Town?" The gang had at last reach Scarlet Town. They were just about to enter the archway when a spray of sharp arrows flew and landed right in front of them, stopping them in their footsteps. The boys quickly made their oversoul and Lexi pull out her whip. Annie held her beads and Serena gripped her bag tightly.

A man walks out and stood before them. He was lean and tall. He wore red clothing and had a tattoo on his forehead. Behind stood others who also wore red clothing and had the same tattoo as the man but it was in different places.

"Are you seeking the treasure?" the man asked, his voice was bold and loud. Daichi assume that he was the leader.

"No, we're travelers." Daichi said.

"You process spirits. Are you shamans?" they nodded.

"Even so, they could still take our treasure!" a man that was younger than the leader step up. Daichi saw a long sword sticking out of the long robe that he wore.

The leader held up a hand to stop the man. "Enough, Yoshi. They are not evil. I do not sense it in their spirits." he turns to face them. "Come, we will show you our town." he began to walk away. The others had made a parting for him. The gang looked at each other and followed the leader.

The town had red everywhere. There were also colors that went well with it as well that lit up the whole town. People came out of their houses and greeted them warmly. They could see many shops where sellers tried to sell their goods and fought over customers. There were many alleys that led to other places. Large and small houses were along the streets. The town was fill with joy and pride. Daichi notice that everybody in the town mostly wore red clothing and had the same tattoo somewhere on themselves. He saw children playing with each other and adults discussing business.

The leader soon brought them to a small dojo. It was in very fine shape with rough wood all around. The sign says "Shaman Jisu". Daichi look at the leader curiously. He also saw that the others was confuse too.

The leader saw and smiles. "My name is Genma. I am the leader of Scarlet Town. I'm sorry about the arrows, we often find miners that want the treasure that we spent centuries to guard. We don't let outsiders come in, but you five are seeking a piece for your Oracle Belt, correct?" The boys nodded.

"We also guard a piece as well as our jewel. Do you wish to gain the piece?" The boys nodded again. "Very well. Go inside to meet the guardian. The girls and your ghosts will have to stay outside with us. Also leave your weapons to the girls as well." Daichi handed his sword to Annie and Rei threw his spear lightly to Lexi who caught it with eased. Yuki gave Serena his pendulum case while Akira also gave her his snowboard. Charlie didn't have a weapon except his gloves which grows sharp claws when he fuses with Mic. Shamans could also have their spirits go into them to fight as one. The girls carry the boys' weapons and along with the ghosts, they follow Genma away and the boys walk in the dojo.

Inside the dojo, was nothing except a small person wearing Patch Tribe clothing that was seated in the front of the dojo. The person raises its head. The boys were shock when they saw an animal mask covering the Patch member's face. The person rose to its feet and stare at them. The person was no more than to about the boys' waist yet it stood straight.

"You wish for a piece for your Oracle Bell?" it spoke. They nodded.

"Um, are you a guy or a girl?" Akira asked. The person ignores him.

"Very well, your test begins now." the person snaps its fingers. Five moving puppets appear and stood in a stance that meant that they were really to fight.

"Defeat these puppets and you get your piece." with that being said, the person sat back down and cross its arms together.

Rei punch a puppet nearby in the head. It went down, but soon came back up again. He grits his teeth and kicked it. Like before it went back up again. Daichi dodge a flying kick from a different puppet and quickly strike it in the stomach, if it had one. Like the other, it also raises back up.

"What on earth are these made of?" Akira said, as he whips around and struck a puppet on its legs, causing it to fall down. It rose back up and ready to fight. "Unbreakable steel?"

"Do not use your power to destroy things. There are other ways to use them." the mask person said from its spot in the front of the dojo.

"What other things can we do other than destroy?" Rei asked. He punches another puppet and soon frowns as it stood before him again.

"There are lots of ways. Why, you could bring in the cow, set up the lawn, and feed the chickens-"

"Um, that's farming. Not shaman things." Akira interrupted. He and Charlie stood side by side fighting two puppets that launch at them. They quickly duck under, grab the puppets' string legs and flung them to the ground.

"These puppets are full of your mana, right?" Yuki said as he continues to dodge a puppet's moves. He was trying to find a pattern in the puppet's moves to be able to counter it. This is why he is the smartest one out of all of them. He thinks before he acts.

The mask person nodded. "You five are slow."

"Slow? On what? Like an old turtle!" Charlie turns the question into another one of his jokes, stopping to look at the mask person. The others did too, for once not hitting Charlie for his bad jokes.

"What do you think shamanetic powers are? And also, that joke was horrible." the mask person's voice boomed. They look at him in confusion. The mask person shook its head in disappointment.

Charlie quickly recovered. "Actually, I think it sparkled!"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a huge crash that shook the dojo. The boys look up to see that the roof of the dojo had disappeared. They took another look and saw a barrier that cover the dojo's inside, but not the outside. A huge robotic lion landed on the roof. It shook the dojo violently, causing a side of the dojo to fall apart.

They look over and saw Annie, Lexi and Serena fighting along side Genma and the other warriors that protects Scarlet Town in its time of need. There was many robotic animals just like the lion on top of the roof that was attacking them. They seem to come out of nowhere and the boys could see that the robotic animals were a lot stronger than usual animals. They attack everywhere and a few had ganged up on the girls and Genma as well as the other warriors. Surprisingly, they didn't come close to the barrier like they were program not to.

Annie had summoned her two Shikigamis spirits. They were once two old nature spirits that soon turn into demons. They look very similar to ogres and their names are Zenki and Kouki. Zenki was blue and had only one horn that was in the middle of its head as well as had seven eye sockets in the front of its huge face that were together like petals around the middle. Its eye sockets were shaped like the "Seven Star Tree of Renewal". It had huge razor sharp teeth like fangs. Kouki was red and had two horns on either side of its huge head. Its eye sockets were shaped like the "Five Point Star" and unlike Zenki, it had only one eye in the socket in the middle of the star. Both were very strong fighters and had their own style of battling as well as good with weapons.

Lexi was throwing Jufu Talismans to boost Akane's powers as well as fighting off robotic animals with her silver whip. Jufu Talismans are yellow strips of spirit paper that dàoshìs use to control their ghosts. They are also use to boost a ghost's powers. A dàoshì writes the talismans with their own blood in able to have it in affect.

Serena was helping the others by using her kokkuri board form divinations. She told everybody the robotic animals' moves before they even happen and the rest were able to defend themselves. Serena was one of the best students of using divination in the Asakura household. Her spirits that help her do her divination were named Conchi and Ponchi. They were two animal-like mischief makers spirits so Serena keeps them lock up in her kokkuri board unless she needs them. Conchi was a fox spirit whereas Ponchi was a raccoon spirit. They were both lazy, cranky old geezers. She can create a crossbow that could shoot guided arrows at will when she makes her oversoul with her spirits.

Genma and the other warriors were fighting the endless amount of robotic animals as best as they can. The warriors were also shamans and had a pretty decent amount of mana as their oversoul. They were fighting pretty hard, but not enough to stop the attacks. Genma was lost in his rage for the robots to see clearly through their movements and was making reckless attacks. The other warriors were also blinded by their rage and were determined to protect their people as well as the jewel. Daichi spotted the young warrior, Yoshi, who had tried to attack them at the gate was destroying as many robots as he could, but, he cannot win if he, as well as the other warriors doesn't overcome their fear for their jewel and the anger for the heartless scumbags who had destroy many of their people to try to get their hands on the Scarlet Jewel. The boys watch as one by one, the warriors fell and laid on the cold ground, no longer breathing as the robotic animals tear their flesh and bones apart. Their spirits will be sent to the King Of Spirits where they will either be sent to heaven or hell.

The town's people had disappear into the many tunnels that their ancestors have made so many centuries ago for if ever this would happen, they will go deep into the Scarlet Jewel's chamber. The legend of the Scarlet Jewel lies resting there as well as the creature within.

In the dojo, the boys stood emotionless at the scene in front of them. Their hair covers their faces. The mask person watched them careful, knowing that they had finally understood. The person reaches up and tosses away its mask. The mask person was an old man who had a large scar under his right eye.

"You are unable to help them unless you get stronger." he said, standing up. "You cannot leave this dojo unless you complete the test. Now, what will you do? Will you give up or will you avenge your fallen friends?"

The boys continue to stay silent. All was still in the small dojo. The battle continued to rage outside as weapons attack one another. Daichi slowly began to glow with power. It rage around him and the others have started to glow as well. Their mana was increasing rapidly as it forms a tornado around them. The old man grin, this is their power alone without the help of spirits. One by one, the mindless puppets melt due to the rage in the boys' powers. They had passed the test and the barrier fell apart slowly by starting at the top. The robotic lion crash down to the middle of the dojo with a loud Boom! The boys didn't even flinch.

"Ahh! Somebody helps me!" a girl's voice shouted out. Daichi turn and saw a girl about their age who was about to be killed by a giant robotic elephant. She was slowly backing away from the robotic creature. Annie, Lexi and Serena were too busy fighting to notice.

She had flaming red hair with pale pink highlights that was in two braided pigtails which flows down to her waist. Like the other people in Scarlet Town, she too wears red. She wore a simple red dress with yellow lining that reach to her knees. There was a striking design on her dress that shows a unusual yellow flower and had a symbol in the middle. She wore a golden locket around her neck and a small golden metal bracelet. She had red flats with yellow flowers on the end. A golden circle rested around her head and her sky-blue eyes were filled with tears. She had a bird spirit who was a falcon with gray and blue sharp feathers and had a silver beak with piercing fiery-red eyes.

The elephant stomped its front legs hard on the ground. It continues to stomp and was making an earthquake. The girl fell to the ground and her ghost flaps its wings and tried to help her. The elephant gave out a massive roar and flung its long, strong trunk at the girl. She screams and holds up her hands in front of her face as if ready to protect herself from her doom.

"Hey, why don't you fight somebody your own size?" Akira had jump out of the hole of the barrier before it had completely broken apart and had frozen the elephant right in its tracks. It was a robotic ice sculpture now. Akira had put Corey into a stick that Serena had carved for him long ago. It was a special kind of stick that was born in their tribe and it was called an Inkupawci. It had markings of their tribe that was neatly carved and was about seven inches long. It had a mixture of black and brown wood and had a sharp point at the end. They bring good luck if they were carved by someone who cares about you.

Akira's oversoul was different now and was a lot smaller than his snowboard oversoul. He grins at the girl and holds out his hand.

"Need any help?" he asks. She nodded and took his hand to which he pull her up from the ground.

"You better take cover. I got some business to take care of." Akira turns back to the robotic animals. He had an intense glare on his face. He clutches his fists and his eyes glow. In his tribe, the Ainu have always respect nature for teaching them to survive in the cold wilderness. They are one with nature. Akira had grown up with animals and minutians so he holds great respect for them as well as for the environment. He didn't like how somebody made robotic animals that were lifeless.

"How dare somebody make lifeless robotic animals to do their bidding?! Those pathetic losers have no respect for nature! They're going to pay. BIG time." Akira narrows his glowing eyes. His power was full of rage, yet he was still in control of his feelings.

"Cool it. For an ice shaman, you can't cool down your own fire?" Rei said smirking. He and the others had jump out of the barrier as well.

"Okay, fire. What does the match say to the fuel?" Charlie began, but Rei knock his head and he fell on the ground.

"I could cool it. Let the thrashing begin," Akira smirk back and slam his fists together. He looks back at the girl. "Can you fight?" She nodded and had a look of determination on her face. She quickly made her oversoul with her spirit.

They ran to join the girls who were the only ones left that were battling the robots. The girls threw them their weapons and they create their oversoul.

Daichi duck as a gorilla robot swung its strong arms at him. It gave a roar and pound its crest loudly with it's mightily fists. Daichi jump up and slash the gorilla in half. The halves blast into pieces and bits of metal flew in the air.

He fails to see a slithering snake soon wrapping itself around his legs. He tried to get out of its hold and thrash violently. He bit down on his teeth and focuses his power on the snake's eyes. The snake was caught off guard and was shaking its head back and forth. Daichi seized the chance and melted the metal snake.

He looks over at what the others were holding up. They were all fine except for a few bruises and scars but other than that, they were doing pretty well in defending themselves from the robots. A sudden feeling came over him and he whacks his arm behind him. He look down to see three robotic mice were lying at his feet. He creates a barrier around himself and bent down to examine the robotic animals. He ignores the cries from the robotic animals as they tried to attack him but was sent back flying and landing in the dust that all of the fighting was causing. The mouse all had a small red tag whap around their necks. It shows a picture of the mouse and small circles all over the body. _Pressure points,_ Daichi thought as he gave a frown before it quickly turn into a smirk. _Whoever made these and then tagging their weaknesses are pretty dumb._

"Oi! Attack them at their pressure points! It's their weakness!" he let the barrier fall and call out to his friends. They all nodded. Daichi knew that the rest of the boys knew about pressure points, but he didn't know about the girls. He soon smiled when he saw Annie having her spirits attack the robots at a bunch of different pressure points.

"Ha, ha. Well done. I didn't think you would have defeated my animals so easily. No wonder Master Keir respects you so much, Daichi Asakura." a voice said from above them. They all look up and saw a tall man riding on a robotic bird who looked like a mad scientist with the crazy hair, large glasses and a long white lab coat that had two lab beakers fill with a mixture of red and blue liquid in one bottle and purple and yellow in the other. The man snaps his fingers and the robotic animals stopped.

Daichi narrow his eyes at the mention of Keir. "What do you mean "Master"? Who are you anyway?"

The man gave out a cruel laugh that echo in the air. "My name is Dr. Lipling. I am as you would call it, a minion of Master Keir's. He has many followers. I create these robots and went to attack you because Master Keir wanted to test your strength."

"More like Dr. Loopy." Charlie remarks. Daichi stole a glance at Akira. He could tell that his friend was going to lose it any minute now. He frowns and hopes that Akira would be able to control his anger.

"You made these robots? You destroy Genma and the other warriors just because you wanted to test our strength?" Akira had his bangs over his eyes as he stood really still. He looks up with anger in his eyes. The girl was looking at him, worried. "You're dead!" Akira jump up into the air. He then creates an oversoul with his snowboard and uses it to float in the air.

"Say good-bye." he came up behind the scientist and whacks him on the head, hard. Dr. Lipling duck just out of reach and press a button on a remote control. Massive flocks of robotic birds suddenly surround them. Some took a diving swoop at Akira. He jump up and use the cold air to freeze the birds. He swirled around and creates an icy tornado. The frozen birds drop dead to the ground and made a loud crash. The tornado also shook the bird that Dr. Lipling. The doctor grabs hold of one of the feathers of the bird and growl at Akira. Soon, the wings on the bird started to have blue frost and it started to go down. Akira stops his tornado and watch. Dr. Lipling open a hatch on the bird's neck and pour the beaker with the red and blue liquid into the hatch. The bird started to glow red and the frost on its wings started to melt. Steam was seen in the air as the frost quickly melted and the doctor was back in the air level with Akira, smirking.

"There are robotic. They are made by a genius such as myself. Don't think so highly of yourself just because you have an elemental spirit."

Akira scowls and landed on the bird the other side of the doctor. "I don't. And you have no right to create a heartless animal. Don't you know anything about nature?"

"Who cares about nature? Soon, mankind will rule over the environment so say good-bye to your so-called nature!" Dr. Lipling gave out a laugh.

Akira flew past the doctor and thrashes the bird's head. Dr. Lipling struggled to stay on as his flight rock back and forth and then started to fall. Akira wave Dr. Lipling's remote control and the other beaker from his lab coat in the doctor's surprise and angry face.

"Give me that!" Dr. Lipling lunged for the two items but he miss. Akira grins evilly and wrap his hands tightly around the two items making them frozen solid. He then brought the two items toghther and smashed them into tiny pieces that crumpled into the ground.

All at once, the robotic animals started to shake and soon crumple to the ground in a matter of minutes. Gravity pulls the robotic bird down along with Dr. Lipling as soon as the remote control was crush. Charlie quickly made his oversoul into a yellow cushion that looked like a giant lump of pudding. Dr. Lipling landed in the mass of the oversoul. Akira floated next to him smirking.

"Now, what should we do with you?" Akira began.

"Leave him to us." a voice said behind them. They turn around to see four elders and all of them were wearing ruby clothing and all of them wore identical yellow pieces of cloth around their right wrist.

"Who are you?" Akira asked. He landed on the ground holding Dr. Lipling down on the ground with an ice rope. Charlie had dropped his oversoul as well as the rest of them.

"The Four Red Elders!" the girl exclaim. She rushes over to them and smiled. _The Four Red Elders?_ Daichi thought. He suddenly understood. _They are the elders of Scarlet Town! They make important decisions with the leader of the town. They also are the guardians of the Scarlet Jewel._

"Come. We must see what must be done with this scum." a short old man step up. "My name is Driter."

The other three guardians introduce themselves as Tinderela, an old woman with a warm smile, but her eyes show that she was merciless towards outsiders; Chika, a tall old woman with vicious eyes and a sly smirk on her beautiful pale face; and Briht, a smiling old man that was wearing a huge red hat that was far too big for him.

"We will decide what will happen to him with the rest of the clan." Chika said.

"Shouldn't we get a say in it too?" Daichi said out of the blue. The elders look at him in surprise. "After all, he came here because of us."

"That may be, but he attacked our town and as the elders of Scarlet Town, it should be our choice as well as Marika's here." Tinderela said slowly as she gestured to the girl.

"Hi! My name is Marika Blaze. My dad was Genma who you all met." Marika's eyes were filling with tears when she mentions his now dead father. Tinderela and Chika tried to comfort her as they led her away from the group.

Akira growls. He grabs Dr. Lipling by the collar. "You didn't have to kill her father and the other warriors you jerk! They didn't have to die because you wanted to test our strength!"

"Yeah! Couldn't you just ask?" Charlie cut in. Mic nodded his furry yellow with brown spots head as if saying that he agrees with Charlie.

"Besides, why would Keir want a weakling like you to be his follower anyways?" Yuki asked while Chloe smile sweetly at the doctor. Rei nodded.

Dr. Lipling's eyes were filling with fear. "I'm sorry! I..." Now that he doesn't have his robotic animals, the doctor was pretty weak.

"Sorry doesn't undo what already happen!" Akira shouted. Corey floated next to him and tried to hold him back.

"Akira, calm down. Wait until the meeting." Daichi said calmly. Akira gave one last glare before he released the doctor's collar. Dr. Lipling breathes in really fast. Daichi grab the ice rope from Akira. He helped the doctor get up and pull him towards the direction the two elders and Marika went. The others followed.


	9. Chapter 8

I do not own any of the characters. Please enjoy and review.

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Chapter 8

The meeting room was at the far edge of the town and was not damage by the attack. It was quite large since it was able to fit all of the clan and it was also very simple room with no pictures or signs. There were only four chairs in the front of the room for the elders and Marika. They took their places as the gang and Dr. Lipling stood before them. Daichi look around at the clan and could tell that their faces were not as cheerful as they were before. They all had steady level faces even the children and were whispering among themselves.

Driter stood up and held up a hand. The clan fell with silence and they all turn to look. All eyes were on the elders and Marika.

"As you all know, Genma had fallen in battle so his only daughter, Marika, will replace him." Driter began. Murmurs flew around the clan. Marika put on a brave smile.

"We are here today for a clan meeting because this madman," Driter pointed to Dr. Lipling and the clan cast glares at the frighten doctor. "Who destroyed our town therefore he must be punish!" The clan raises their fists and chanted "Kill him!"

"Wait, he doesn't have to die." Daichi step up while holding the doctor behind him. Dr. Lipling's eyes widen. The clan narrows their eyes and some started to protest but Driter stopped them. Marika's hand was over her mouth as she stared in horror at the people who save her. Driter motions for Daichi to continue.

"What good would it do if you just kill him?" Daichi began, his face was serious. Annie gave a small smile. "Would it make you happy if he gets sent to hell? What good of a clan are you if you would kill anybody who fights you?" Daichi's voice was steady as he focuses his gaze on the elders and Marika.

"He attacks our town and kills our best warriors!" Chika shouted as she too stood up alongside Tinderela.

"She is right! He must be punish for he has broken our clan laws!" Tinderela exclaimed with fury. The clan shouted as if to say that they had agreed with her.

"What good would it do if you just kill a person like that?" Rei stood beside Daichi as of all the other boys.

"That's right, because killing another person would be worthless." Yuki said smiling.

"What would you get from it?" Charlie asked. "Besides, violence isn't the answer. Laughing is! Okay, what is the slowest neck in the world?" There was silence in the room. The gang groans. The clan and even the elders and Marika tried to figure it out. After a while, they all gave up. "A turtle neck!" and with that punch line being said, Charlie was suddenly wearing a green turtle neck which he pull up to show the crowd. The clan roar with laughter and some slapped their knees while others held their sides. Even Dr. Lipling was laughing so hard that he was lying on the hard floor roaring with laughter as Daichi tried to get a grip on the ice rope. Charlie started crying happily and was bowing to the clan. The gang stood gaping at the response. Nobody EVER had laugh once at one of Charlie's jokes.

_What sense of humor do these people have?_ The gang except Charlie all thought.

Marika soon recover from her fits of giggles as well as the four elders. Driter held up his hand and the clan settled down. Charlie wipes one last tear away from his eye and was beaming.

"Okay, since we have never laughed this hard in years, I guess the scum does get to live a little bit longer." Chika said, her face was serious again.

"A little bit longer? You don't get it do you? Everybody deserves a second chance. Nobody deserves to die unless they did it for a good cause." Akira said grinning.

The gang smiled. "He's right. You would be as low as he is if you were to kill him." Daichi said smiling a goofy smile. "There must be something he could do to serve you, but you shouldn't treat him like a slave if you decide that he will live."

Marika stood up and smiled. "They are right. Even if this man killed my father, we would be the same as him if we kill him. Alright, then! You, Dr. Lipling will help us repair the town by creating robots to help build our town back to its former glory!"

The clan cheered for their new leader had made her first decision for the greater good of the clan. Dr. Lipling was jumping with joy that he didn't have to die yet. Akira let the ice rope melt.

All of the sudden, a flying arrow flew into the room and slice through Dr. Lipling's heart. He fell to the ground, motionless. Daichi quickly turn to face the shooter. A black figure was standing at the entrance of the room holding a large bow. The figure soon vanishes into thin air. Suddenly, the mood in the room went from cheerful to sadness. A few children had started to cry as their mothers held them close. The men frown and held tightly to their weapons. Even if Dr. Lipling did a terrible thing to them, nobody like seeing a person die in front of them in this clan. Driter had four men in white and red jumpsuits to take away the dead doctor and bury him in the far corner of the forest near the town. They were also to make a grave for him. The four men gather up the doctor and took him away. Driter motions for the clan to leave. Everybody rush out with their faces twisted with fear and sadness. The elders left their table but Marika stay behind and went to the gang.

Daichi was full of rage. When they had at least convinced the clan to keep Dr. Lipling alive, somebody came and kill him. A thought suddenly occurred to him. _That figure had the same presence that I sensed in those woods back in Key Onsen! Which means, that the person who kill Dr. Lipling was also a follower of Keir's?_ He started to shake as he figured out what that could only mean. _That person kill his own comrade! His own friend!_ Daichi gave a low growl and his mana began to increase around him. Amidamaru look at him, worried. Daichi's father, Hana had a very short temper when he was younger because of his mother, Anna and that was why Daichi had the same short temper that he rarely shows at times. The only reason he could keep cool most of the time was because of his mother, Alumi. His headphones had drop to his neck instead of its usual place on behind his ears on top of his head.

Annie rests a hand on his shoulder. He looks at her with anger in his sea-green eyes. This was the first time Annie had seen Daichi lost his cool. She looks at him with level eyes showing no emotion. She then brought her hand up and slaps him, hard. The girls gave a gasp and the boys gave a frown as they all waited for what would happen next. Daichi rub his red cheek and look at her, speechless. "Did you forget already what you said that we shouldn't just kill anybody or we would be as low as they are?" she told him coolly. Her face shows no emotion as she place a hand on her hip. "Do you really want to die out of rage for someone? I didn't except you to be so weak, Dai."

Daichi rub his sore cheek again and let his mana drop. He gives Annie a carefree grin. "You're right. Sorry about that." Daichi was back to his normal calm attitude. He places his headphones back on and smiles warmly at Annie.

The other boys, Serena and the guardian ghosts gave out a relief sigh. They had all witness Daichi's temper before when he snap once when they were all younger. They all had nightmares for a long time after seeing it and even now they were still afraid what would happen if Annie hadn't calmed him down. Since Daichi's family was really powerful people, he also had gained the same power and more. You could say that he went on a rampage and destroy several towns when he was five years old and went to jail for two days before his parents came and decided to let him out since he had cool down. Hana also went to jail but it was when he was six because he thought a couple of men that came up to him were robbers because they were acting like thugs in his option, so he thrash them with Amidamaru. It turns out that they were only asking for directions since they were new to the city and were trying to look cool.

Annie knows what had happen because she had the ability to look into people's memories and Anna and Alumi told her about it as well. She wasn't scare by it at all. To her, it was pretty pathetic and useless for Daichi to go and waste his mana like that. She thought he was a total idiot which just to show you that she had gain not only her teachers' powers and abilities, but their attitude as well.

"Marika, you need to come with us." Briht said. The elders had came back all with grave expressions written all over. The gang and Marika gave them curious looks.

"What for?" Marika ask.

"You will need the creature within the Scarlet Jewel, the jewel our clan had spent years to protect powers to overcome the dangers ahead in your future. The rest of you should come too." Tinderela said. The elders were all given the powers to see into the future in certain times. They stared at the elders in shock. From what the boys had learned about other regions and clans all around, the Scarlet Jewel was only seen by the guardians and that was it. The elders started to walk away and the rest rush after them.

* * *

The chamber of the Scarlet Jewel was hidden deep underground of the town. As the kids followed the elders down the narrow tunnel leading to the chamber lit only by three torches, they were amazed by how such a narrow passage could survive after hundreds of years. The color of the tunnel walls were pitch black and had small portions of fresh spring water flowing down all around the pitch black tunnel. The water flows out of the tunnel and into the small clear blue pond that rested underground. The pond had beautiful greenery all around and there were small golden and red fish that swims peacefully in the fresh pond.

"This place is incredible, Daichi. Who knew that there was life down in here?" Amidamaru said as the samurai looked around with interest. For a more than 600 years old ghost, that was saying something. Daichi nodded.

"I thought you would have seen everything in your 600 years, Amidamaru." Bason said. Truth to me told, Bason was a 500 or so years old ghost which was only one hundred years after Amidamaru. The samurai ghost shook his head.

"I was waiting for my best friend Mosuke to come remember? I swore an oath to wait for him to bring his new sword to me before those scums showed up and kill me. I still waited for Mosuke on that hill until Yoh, a thirteen year old boy then came up to me and soon help the both of us out by letting Mosuke take over his body to repair Mosuke's sword, "Harusame"(that was the name of the sword and it means "Sword Of Light") that he was going to give me. Yoh brought back to sword to me and that was when I became his guardian ghost." Amidamaru smile at the memory. Actually the sword that Daichi uses now WAS Harusame. It was passed down from Yoh.

"I never would have thought," Akane said as Lexi agreed with her. Marika and her ghost who was call Fifu nodded.

They soon reach the chamber. Their eyes' widen for the chamber was every color of red ever made. It was also really bright that the kids had to shield their eyes' because they had not seen light for a while. The walls glittered with ruby gems attach to them. The most amazing site was the large, glittering, ruby- red scarlet jewel that rested in the middle of the chamber. The kids looked closely and were surprise to see something sleeping inside the precious jewel. The elders place their torches into golden rings that were made in the chamber by the clan's ancestors. They all walk up around the jewel.

"What is in there?" Akira asks. The other kids were wondering too as they lean in a bit more curiously.

"That is the creature that has rested inside the jewel for many years. It is the true power of the jewel," a voice said behind them. They turn around and was surprise to see the Patch Tribe member that guarded the piece for the Oracle Bell standing there.

The boys suddenly remember an important fact. _We forgot about the piece! We haven't got it yet because we all rush out of the dojo so fast to help with the battle!_

The old Patch member walk up to the boys and whack all of their heads making them fall to the ground. "You ran out without getting your piece, you idiotic slackers!"

"Sorry!" the boys rub their heads as they sat up. The others as well as the ghosts all laugh.

"My name is Gyu. Here is your piece that you FORGOT to get." he sigh and handed them each a small metal claw. They took it and place it into their pouches. The boys smile since they now have three pieces so far. That was more than halfway that they already done!

"Where have you been all this time?" Chika asked. Gyu turn his attention away from the boys and look at her.

"I have been watching."

"Well, now that you are here, we can start." Tinderela said. The boys look at her in surprise. "Didn't he tell you?" she said, surprise. They shook their heads. "Gyu is also a member of the guardians that guard the Scarlet Jewel."

"What?!" the boys yelled and glare at Gyu for not telling them this very important fact.

Gyu gave out a laugh. "It was your fault for not asking in the first place! Besides, you ran out before I could do anything!" Daichi, Rei, Yuki, Akira and Charlie remember as if a light bulb suddenly lights itself. Daichi and Akira rub their heads sheepishly, Rei scowl, Yuki smile and Charlie dance around for whatever reason.

"Let us begin." Briht said. The five elders had Marika stand in front of the jewel while the others watch from the corner of the chamber. They gather around the jewel and started to chant in a different language that the gang didn't know. Marika's body started to glow as well as the jewel. The elders' chant got louder as it became more powerful by the second. Slowly the creature within the jewel started to come out and Marika close her eyes. The gang watch, amazed at the site in front of them. The creature was black and was curl up so much that they couldn't tell what it was.

Akira wanted the Spirit Of Rain to see this so he summon it. Marika suddenly cried out in pain when the elemental spirit arrived. Gyu was surprise at the spirit as were all of the other elders. They were suddenly worried because this progress shouldn't have caused any pain. As they all watch, a beautiful dragon spirit came out of Marika's body. The gang gasp for it was the dragon Spirit Of Rain. The dragon spirit had beautiful dark blue scales with piercing icy blue eyes and its long tail was as sharp as seashells. Marika had Akira's spirit.

Akira quickly had the Spirit Of Rain to disappear. The dragon spirit went back into Marika's body and the progress continued. Her body began to have swirls of red and golden power strips and the creature was now floating on top of her and it slowly opens its eyes. Its eyes were a beautiful amber color. It reaches out and touches Marika's shoulder. It slowly began to draw an ancient symbol on her arm and when it was finish, it touches her head as well as Fifu's. The symbol on Marika's glow and Fifu's feathers turn red with yellow edges around each of them. The gang could feel Marika's mana increasing rapidly. As soon as it was done, the creature went back into the jewel and the elders drop their chant. Marika lay on the ground with Fifu flapping its ruby-red wings in front of her.

* * *

Marika slowly open her eyes. She looks around to find herself in a small tent. She gave a small gasp when she saw Akira sleeping peacefully in a sitting position against the wall of the tent. He slowly opens his eyes and gave her a small smile.

"Hey, you're up." Akira scoots over to where she was and rubs an eye.

She nodded. "How long was I out?"

"Two days."

"Two days?! What happen to the town?" Marika exclaim in panic.

"Calm down. The clan is busy repairing the town," Akira tried to calm her down. She relax and sat up.

"What happen?" Marika asked. Akira quickly fill her in on what had happen in the chamber. She was clearly in shock. When Akira got to the part about her having his spirit and that she needed to come with them on their journey, he didn't look at her in the eye.

"The elders say that it was your choice if you wanted to go or not no matter what Gyu said. The others are fine with it. So will you join or not? I mean, it would be hard to leave your clan so if you didn't, we would understand." he stammers. He looks at her and she stare back at him.

She presses her lips together for a moment. "I'll come. If I have been given this power, then I shouldn't be in the way." Marika smiled at Akira who grins back at her.

He stood up and helps her stand on her feet because she was still weak from two days of sleep. They walk out of the tent to find the five elders and the rest of the gang waiting for them. Fifu rush to Marika who hug him happily. Tinderela handed Marika a traveling bag and a yellow long-sleeved mini jacket. Marika puts on the jacket and let it hang open and swung the bag over her shoulder. She then hug each elder.

The boys walk over to Akira who was grinning. Daichi swung his arm around Akira's shoulders and smirk. "So, Akira. Did you finally get a girl to like you yet?"

Rei smirk. "I never thought you could have talked her into it. It's a miracle, really."

"This is amazingly the best thing you have ever done before!" Yuki exclaim.

"Akira, my buddy! So glad you could drop be for my joke! Okay what did the clown say to his monkey partner?" Charlie gave a pause. "Hiya, buddy buddy banana!" Daichi, Rei and Akira punch him while the elders except Gyu and Marika burst out laughing. Even Lexi started to laugh a bit at the joke! Rei smirk at her. She was never going to hear the end of this.

The gang soon left behind Scarlet Town now with Marika and Fifu joining them. Daichi had finally decided where they would go next. "Okay, everyone! We're going to Cheki next!"

Lexi suddenly paled when he said that. They look at her in confusion. "What's the matter? Scared or something?" Rei asked as he smirks. She didn't respond like she always did.

"Um, couldn't we go to a different region first? I mean, Cheki is really large." Lexi said softly looking down at the ground. Akane rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I was thinking of doing it first since it is so big but if you want to wait-" Daichi began.

Lexi shook her head. 'You're right. We should go there first."

The gang continues on their way. Rei was watching Lexi carefully as they began their journey to Cheki.


	10. Chapter 9

I do not own any of the characters. Please enjoy and review.

**Jeanne: **_There is more to Lexi then meets the eye, I suppose._

**Ren: **_Your story is taking forever, Soul._

**Me: **_Well, excuse me! To make a good story you have to keep people up to date with good details!_

**Yoh: **_The story isn't bad so it's fine._

**The others except Ren nodded.**

* * *

Chapter 9

_What is wrong with her?_ Rei thought. It had been a few days since they had left Scarlet Town with Marika. Lexi had paled when Daichi said that they were going to the Cheki region. Ever since then, she had not been herself and Rei was wondering why. When Daichi said that they were going to Dream Kingdom, Lexi fainted there on the spot. Rei had caught her and was now carrying her in his arms. To his surprise, she was really light, but then, he had train his muscles to be strong. He look down at her sleeping figure. _Why is she so upset about Dream Kingdom? Hold on, wasn't her last name Dream? I wonder if this could be connected._ He frowns as he tried figuring it out but after a while, he gave up.

"Rei?" He turns his attention to Lexi who had just woken up. Her eyes were half open and she gave him a small smile.

"I'm sorry." she said softly so only he could hear. He gave a small smile back and nods.

"Hey! You guys! Look at that!" Daichi pointed. Rei look up and was surprise to see that they had arrive at the city where the Dream castle was. The town's people were all gathering in the town's square. Something was going to happen. They all rush over to the crowd. Rei set Lexi down.

Daichi tap a man's shoulder. "Excuse me, what is going on?"

The man smiled, but Daichi could see that his eyes were sad. "Our queen is coming to visit us today. She always visits us every day. Her daughter, the princess, always comes with her but a few weeks back, she had disappeared. So now, the queen only visits us once a week due to her sadness."

For some reason, when the man had turn around, Lexi hid behind Rei. She shifted uncomfortably when the man told Daichi what was going on. Rei looks at her and frowns.

The crowd started to cheer when a beautiful pale pink carriage pull by two strong white horses that had golden beads braided into their mares. The carriage stop right in front of the crowd and the rider jump from his seat in the reins and held open the carriage door. A beautiful woman steps out from the carriage. She wore a beautiful soft silk pink dress that was in layers down near the bottom. Her blonde hair flow down to her waist with a golden crown resting on her head. Her soft blue eyes and sweet smile made her very charming. She wave to the crowd.

Rei felt Lexi's grip on his jacket tighten. She peeks out from behind him. He quickly grabs her hand and pulls her out in front of him. She tried to get back behind him but he held her stubbornly and made her face the queen. Lexi tried to hide her face for whatever reason that Rei didn't know.

The queen's eyes look over the crowd and were surprise to see the kids alone. She peer closely at the girl who was trying to hide her face to which the boy behind her made her face the queen. The queen gasps when she saw the girl. "Lexi? Is that you?" the queen yell in shock as she grab her long dress and made her way through the crowd. They parted and let her through. The gang except Lexi, was surprise that the queen knew their friend. The queen stops in front of Lexi.

Lexi slowly turn to look at the queen in the eye. "Hello, mother." she said softly. The others stared at her in shock. The queen was her MOTHER? That would make Lexi the missing PRINCESS! The queen gave a happy cry and hugged Lexi tightly. The crowd cheer for their princess has return.

"Lexi. Lexi. I'm so glad you're back! Where are earth did you go?" the queen ask tearfully. Lexi look at the ground. "Well, you must be tired. Let's get back to the castle and have you and your friends all rest up."

* * *

The Dream Castle was very grandeur. It had three beautiful white towers all with creamy colored flags attach to the end. The one in the middle was the tallest of the three and had a large window near the top. The castle was a creamy pink colored and blooming flowers blossom all around in the castle's gardens. Bushes were neatly trim as they stood at each side of the road leading to the castle. There was a giant flowing fountain in the middle as the road circled around it. They could see healthy, growing fishes of all kinds in the fountain's fresh clear blue waters. There were palace guards that were patrolling the castle guards. As they got near the drawbridge, they saw two palace guards that wore different uniforms then the ones they had seen earlier that stood at each end of the drawbridge. They began to lower the drawbridge and the carriage rode in. Once there were inside the castle, the kids except Lexi could see how beautiful it was on the inside too. They were in a massive room that had two long staircases going up to who knows where. A golden chandelier with sparkling diamonds hangs on the white ceiling. There were several doorways and priceless items that were place neatly in glass cases.

Many maids came through the doorway and greeted the queen warmly. They were surprise at the site of their lost princess that they had not seen for about a month or two now. They all cried and hug their princess lovingly. The rest of the gang watches for they couldn't understand why Lexi would want to leave and upset her kingdom. The queen had the maids to go and get the kids ready for their meeting with her and her husband. They were all rush in different directions.

* * *

Daichi smirk when he saw Rei enter the room where the king and queen was in. Rei had a scowl on his face for he had to wear a red tunic with golden lining as well as dark red shoes with white socks. He had black pants as well.

Daichi himself was wearing an orange tunic with black lining with dark orange shoes with white socks as well as black pants. They tried to get him to remove his headphones and bear talons necklace, but he had refuse. The headphones and necklace was a gift from his parents and grandparents. He never takes off the necklace ever since he got it for it was the only thing that Yoh had left from the first spirit he fuses with. The spirit was in the Asakura family for many generations but after that battle when Yoh and Anna was ten years old and Yoh had to use the spirit's powers to defeat the demon that Anna had created because of her hatred for the people who had abandoned her when she was a baby, it took all of the spirit's powers so he had been return to the King of Spirits. The bear talons necklace was the only thing the Asakuras had left of him besides their memories of him.

Akira came in and he didn't look so happy either. He was wearing a blue tunic with light-blue lining with dark-blue shoes and white socks and black pants. He still had on his headband around his head through.

Yuki came in with him as well as Charlie. They were wearing the same thing except that Yuki's was green with yellow lining and had dark green shoes and Charlie's was yellow with orange lining and had on dark yellow shoes.

The boys bow to the king and queen and they all waited for the four girls to come.

"Girls tend to take longer with their clothes. I'm glad you have so much patience for boys." the queen said, her voice was like music to their ears. "The boys in my days were very rash." The king scowls. He was wearing a creamy white robe with red lining. A golden crown rested in his black bangs and his brown eyes narrow at his wife.

_She doesn't know the real us,_ the boys all thought.

After a while, the girls finally arrived. The boys' eyes widen at the site.

Annie was wearing a long soft pink dress that hung in two layers. The dress had pink and white flowers and was strapless. The top was a darker pink color with white lining. Annie's hair was sprinkle with a white and pink flower that had a pink ribbon attach to it that flow down her blonde hair and her braided was undone as was her bandana. She wore a ruby ring on her finger and had a golden necklace around her neck. Daichi smiled at her. Amidamaru nudge him a bit with a smile on his face.

Serena was wearing a long soft blue dress with white lining. The top of the dress was a darker blue and had white swirls. The dress had small snowflakes all over the bottom and each snowflake was different. Serena's hair was wavy near the ends and her headband was removed only to be replaced by a white snowflake that rested neatly in her bangs. She wore a blue ring and had a golden necklace. Yuki smile at her warmly and she return the smile. Chloe look between the two and gave a peaceful smile.

Marika came in wearing a long soft red dress that had many layers. The dress was had little cherries all around the bottom and the top was a darker red with simple yellow lining that was wavily around the top. Her now wavy flaming red hair flow down her back and she wore a golden necklace with a matching golden ring. Her golden circle still rested on her head. Akira grins. Corey floated beside him holding her lily pad above her small head and giggled.

Lexi came in last with a worried expression on her face. She had on a flowing purple dress and sunshine yellow lining. Hers too was strapless as was the top was a darker purple that glitter. The dress glitter all around and it had a moonlight purple slash in the middle. Lexi's hair was flowing down her back and a golden tiara rested on top of her head. She wore a diamond necklace with a matching ring around her finger. Rei frowns at her worried expression. Bason and Shamash wonder what Rei was going to do with that look on his face that show he was going to find out about something.

The girls all curtsey to the king and queen. The king stood up. "Welcome to my kingdom!" the king's voice boom out into the room. "My name is King Leo. This is my wife, Queen Amanda. I thank you for bringing my daughter back safe and sound."

"Aren't you all shamans?" Amanda asked. They nodded except for Lexi who was staring at the carpet ground. The queen smiled. A snow white owl appeared above her. "This is my guardian ghost, Melo."

"Both kingdoms are all shamans. We use our powers to fight." Leo said. A ghost wolf appeared next to him. "This is my guardian ghost. His name is Nerlf."

"You have come at a good time. We are having a war between our rival kingdom, the Nightmares." Leo's eyes darken when he mention the name. The others except Marika suddenly remember what Lexi had said about two kingdoms fighting.

"I'm so glad you're back, dear. I was afraid that one of the Nightmares had captured you." Amanda exclaim happily clapping her hands.

"I'm fine, mother. I'm not a little girl anymore." Lexi said stubbornly.

"Now, now. Don't be like that. We just fear for your safety." Amanda chirp.

Lexi gave a scowl. "Well? Are you going to tell them?"

"I have a feeling that you did not tell your friends about yourself very much. Why don't you do that first?" Leo said.

Lexi rolls her eyes and sighs. She turns around to face the others but for some reason, she wouldn't look at Rei in the eye. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you who I really was from the beginning. My full name is Alexis Aurora Dream and I am the princess of the Kingdom Dream who is at war with the Kingdom Nightmare." Lexi faces her parents. "There, I said it. Now, it's your turn."

"Very well." Leo said. "It began centuries ago. Back then, the two kingdoms were at peace with each other. It was like how light and dark could not live without the other. Everything was peaceful between the two kingdoms until a day came when the Nightmares stole our Hikari Orb. Hikari means light and since we are the Dream Kingdom, the light suits us. When these two kingdoms were first born, their ancestors create two orbs that were the Hikari Orb and Kurai Orb. Kurai means darkness so it suits the Nightmares. The orbs were held in a secret chamber hidden in each castle. Only the royal family of the castle knows where it is located."

"We didn't how, but one day after a huge raging storm, our ancestors went to check on the orb only to discover that it was missing! They had the whole kingdom search and found a piece of fabric that was worn only by the Nightmares. In rage, the Dream Kingdom started attacking the Nightmare Kingdom. They sent many armies and the Nightmares had to defend themselves, so they began to attack. The Nightmares said that they didn't take it and that the Dreams had taken their Kurai Orb away from them and wanted a war between the two kingdoms. Ever since then, our two kingdoms have been at war, each blaming the other for stealing their orb."

"Did you ever found the orbs?" Rei asked.

"No, both orbs were never found to this day." Amanda said sadly. "When Lexi had disappeared, I thought the Nightmares have kidnapped her! I'm just glad she wasn't kidnapped and I am glad that Akane was with her. My sweet Lexi couldn't have handled the real world by herself. I'm so grateful that you all helped her. Lexi, dear, you have made quite the friends!"

Rei look over at Lexi. There was a mixture of hurt, sadness and anger. Her hands were in fists and she was scowling.

"Mother. Father. I would like to go to my room, please." Lexi said sharply. The king and queen nodded slowly and Lexi flew out of the room. Rei followed her after a nod from her mother.

* * *

As soon as they were out of the room, Lexi grab her skirts and ran down the halls. Rei follow her silently. She ran up the stairs and into her room. She slams the door shut as fast as she could, but Rei stop it and went into the room. Lexi kick off her shoes and buried herself in her soft purple pillow. Rei look around. Lexi's room was very neat. The wallpaper was an elegant purple with rays of moonlight yellow and the creamy carpet was very soft. She had a giant bed with purple bedsheets and pillows as well as a purple blanket with a moon design. There were posers of the Dream Kingdom on her walls and she had a massive amount of books lying on top of her wooden desk with a black laptop and a lava lamp that had a moon design. She had a large T.V. and a purple desktop. A diamond chandelier hangs on the ceiling along with moon models. There was a grand closet in one corner and a shoe shelf in the other.

Rei walk over to Lexi who was lying face down on her bed. He sighs. "Oi! Are you going to sleep or what?"

"Leave me alone, Rei!" came Lexi's muffled voice. Rei sat down on the bed. He tugs off Lexi's crown. "Hey!" Lexi sat up and grab the crown away from him. He smirk and she glare.

"So you weren't asleep."

"Of course I wasn't knucklehead!" Lexi smack his head. She places the crown back on her head and cross her arms together. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Rei asked innocently. Lexi growl and flop herself back on her pillow.

"If you're here to annoy me, then get lost."

Rei chuckled. "Really? Is that how you treat your guest at your castle? I thought princesses were supposed to be polite."

She gave him a glare. "I never ask to be a princess! I was born that way!"

Rei raise an eyebrow. "So what? You were born this way so you should take responsibility for your actions. You are the heir to the Dream Kingdom so you should make sure your kingdom is safe. Besides, I'm a heir to the Taos. It's really annoying dealing with everything."

"I guess. You do come from a long bloodline of Chinese shamans after all. Your family is famous." Lexi shrug. "Doesn't Daichi come from a famous long bloodline of Japanese shamans and right now he is the heir to the Asakuras?"

Rei nodded. "Daichi and I have to train the hardest."

"Do you remember what I said about me wanting to stop the fight between the two kingdoms?" Lexi sat up again and look at him. Rei nodded. "I didn't run away for all of that, I guess."

"Don't you like it here?"

Lexi shook her head sadly. "My parents are really over protected. They make a big fuss over every little thing. I was never allow out of the castle other than visiting towns and cities with my mother. Every day, I would always do my studies to be a proper princess. I always watch the other kids play outside in the sunshine while I was stuck inside with nothing to do." Lexi gave a small laugh. "You would think that I would have gotten use to it by now, but I haven't. I always read books about what it was like outside of the kingdom and imagine what it would be like. Akane was my only friend even if she was a ghost."

Rei reach up, took out the crown and ruffled her hair. Her violet eyes looked into his golden ones. He smirks. "Are you really the girl who I saved from those thugs and who said that she didn't need my help even though she did? Or the same girl who argue with me countless times? The Lexi I know would never be so weak over a little thing like this."

Lexi's eyes widen but then she gave out a laugh. "Fine, maybe I'm not the type of girl you think I am but are you really the Rei I know?" Lexi smirk and she tug a lock of his hair playfully to which brought an annoyed look on his face. "The boy I knew who jump into my business and was an arrogant jerk about how he saved me when I could have taken care of those thugs myself. I didn't think you would take the trouble to comfort someone namely the girl who disagrees with you countless times."

Rei rolls his eyes and Lexi laugh again. "Hey, you were the one who would laugh at Charlie's jokes!"

"Oh well, you win some, you lose some." Lexi shrug and beam.

Rei suddenly got up and walk up to the door. Lexi watch him, suddenly worried that he was going to leave her now. Rei open the door and step out of the way as the rest of the gang fell in. The ghosts flew in and Akane gave a smile at Lexi. Lexi's eyes widen and Rei's narrow.

"You guys were eavesdropping on us!" Lexi gave out a gasp as the gang untangled themselves and sat on the floor. Rei close the door and went back to sit on Lexi's bed.

Daichi rub his head sheepishly. "Well, we want to find out what was going on and it was hard to miss a chance when Rei comforts someone." Daichi smirk at Rei so did the other boys. Rei rolls his eyes.

"Daichi, I think we can solve this problem by finding the two orbs." Amidamaru said. Daichi nodded and turn towards the others.

"Well? Should we stay?" he grins. They all nodded.

"Actually, I got a lot of research on it." Lexi got off the bed and walk over to her desk. She rummages through the books until she held up a dusky old book and a purple journal from the pile. She went back on the bed and opens the old brown book. She flips through the pages until she found the one she was looking for. She quickly turns the book so everybody else could see it. The two pages show a picture of two beautiful orbs. The one on the right was a creamy pink and white colored while the one on the left was a dark blue and black colored. The Dream orb was perfectly rounded while the Nightmare looked like a big gemstone with sharp edges and they were both about the same size.

"Some ancient texts that I read say that the two orbs went missing on the same day." Lexi told them. "They both disappeared on the day after that big storm."

"Or during the storm." Rei suddenly said. The others whirl to look at him.

"What makes you say that?" Marika ask.

"Those orbs both disappeared and Lexi's parents said that the two families checked on the orbs after the huge storm. Lexi, what kind of storm was it?" Rei ask.

Lexi quickly open her journal and flipped through some pages. "Here it is! A storm was fill with lightning, thunder and a tornado!"

"If there was a tornado, which would mean that the kingdoms had to go underground to survive!" Daichi snap his fingers as he saw where Rei was going at.

"So that means that someone didn't seek shelter underground like the others, but headed into the rooms where the orbs were located!" Yuki said. Rei nodded.

"That's incredible, Master! You were able to figure it out in an instant!" Bason exclaim while Shamash continue reading its book.

Akira slams his fists together. "But how would we know who stole the orbs?"

"That's right. We can't talk to those people from back then." Charlie said.

Annie stood up. The others watch as she began to untie her beads. She held them up and the others could see that it was very long. "You people seem to forget my power." Annie smirks. "My specially is summoning. I can bring back the souls of the ancestors of the two kingdoms."

Daichi grin. "That's right. You can bring them back to tell us about that fateful day." Annie nodded.

She turns towards Lexi. "What were the names of the king and queen of both kingdoms?"

Lexi flip through more pages before she look back up again. "King Morty and Queen Jasmine of Dream Kingdom. King Nevel and Queen Seshu of Nightmare Kingdom."

Annie started to chant. "One I place for my father. Two I place for my mother. Three I place for my sisters back home." The others could feel her mana rising. Her beads turn snow white as she created a rhythm with them along with her chant. "Hear my call in the realms of heaven and hell. I ask for King Morty and Queen Jasmine of Dream Kingdom as well as King Nevel and Queen Seshu of Nightmare Kingdom!" Annie's eyes started to glow as her beads began to form a portal. There was a bright flash and when the gang opens their eyes, they found themselves looking at the kings and queens of Dream and Nightmare back at the time when the two orbs have gone missing.

King Morty and Queen Jasmine was wearing traditional clothing that were creamy white with red on Morty's and pink for Jasmine. Morty's blonde hair was pull back by his crown as was Jasmine's long brown hair. The queen had a soft smile on her lips while the king was staring at them peacefully, his sharp features looking through them like a hawk. Both look like they were at around their forties.

King Nevel and Queen Seshu were also wearing traditional clothing but theirs were dark purple and pitch black. Seshu's straight long raven hair flow down her black with a crown resting on her head and there was a small beautiful yet sly smile on her naturally pale face. Nevel's long midnight blue hair was tied into a long ponytail and his bangs were pulling back by his crown. He had a scowl on his face while his eyes narrow which meant that he didn't want to be here right now. They look about the same age as the other two.

"You're my ancestors?" Lexi exclaim looking at King Morty and Queen Jasmine. They gave a small nod. Jasmine smile and floated towards Lexi. Jasmine gave her a warm hug.

"There is a lot of tension in all of you." Morty said, his voice was sharp.

"Um, sorry to ask, but why are all of you so young?" Akira shouted.

They look at him in surprise. "Didn't you know, you silly boy? A ghost appears at the age when they died." Seshu's voice was like a silky being coming at you in all different directions.

"Didn't you know about that? This is why Corey and all of us never aged." Bason said. Akira thought about it and Marika smack his head.

"That's right." Jasmine agreed, her voice was like a warming melody that rippled out into the room. She turns towards Annie who was sitting next to Daichi. "I believe you are the itako who summon us." When Annie nodded, Jasmine continues. "What do you need us for?"

"Well, you guys were the kings and queens of the two kingdoms at the time when the two orbs were taken." Serena said. Their eyes darken.

"We don't know what happen to the orbs. We went to check on them the day after that storm and they weren't in their usual place. We both did jumped into the conclusion that the other kingdom had stolen it but after we all died and went to heaven together, we all talk about it in peace and found out that no one knows what happen to the orbs. They just disappeared but we didn't know who had stolen it." Nevel finally spoke. His voice was rough and husky.

"Since we could not go back down to earth after already leaving it for heaven, we could not return to search for something we could have missed." Jasmine said sadly. Once a ghost has left earth and they were either sent to heaven or hell, they cannot be return unless a shaman summons them or lets them go.

"Tell me; was there a tornado in that storm?" Rei ask. They nodded. "And did both of your kingdoms go underground to escape it?" They nodded again. "Then I was right. Somebody did steal the orbs while you guys were underground."

"We figure that as well." Morty said.

"Did you know anybody who would want the orbs?" Daichi asked. The two couple thought carefully, trying to gain their memory from centuries ago.

"Hey, do you guys remember Thiazzi?" Jasmine asked. The three nodded.

"How could we forget that scum?" Nevel scowl. Seshu rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, but who is Thiazzi?" Serena asked.

"You all don't like this Thiazzi very much, do you?" Akane asked. They shook their heads.

"Thiazzi was a rotten troublemaker." Morty said closing his eyes. "He causes a lot of trouble everywhere he went in both kingdoms."

"Why would he do that? You guys were living in peace." Marika said raising an eyebrow.

They shrug. "We always asked him when he landed in prison but he wouldn't say a word." Jasmine explained.

"No matter how many times we threaten him, that scoundrel wouldn't say anything that could led us on." Seshu said. "After a while, we just stop."

"He must have a motive." Rei mutter. Lexi heard him and gave a small smile. _Always trying to know huh, Rei?_

"Do you think he could be the one who stole the orb?" Annie asked.

"We don't know. He was always greedy but I didn't think he would go that far." Jasmine wondered.

"You should never underestimate on who you are dealing with." Amidamaru said.

"If you did, you would be dead if this was a powerful foe." Daichi said.

"Remember, Jasmine. We don't know that much about him." Morty said, his eyes were still close as if he was concentrating on something. She nodded.

"You know, when the orbs were made, they were made at the center of the two kingdoms." Seshu said.

"Are you saying that we could find a clue there?" Lexi asked. Seshu nodded. Lexi bit her lip. "That might be hard through. The Nightmares and the Dream have soldiers all along that border where the two kingdoms' land meet. I don't know if we can get to it."

"We have to try, don't we?" Daichi grin. "We finally have a leading trail so we can't give up on it now can we?"

"That's right, Daichi." Amidamaru said.

"Yes, you're finally not lazy about things this time. If the soldiers attack, we could always throw you in. You're not that useful anyways." Rei smirk as he cross his arms together.

"Gee, thanks Rei." Daichi replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Annie gave a small smile and Lexi giggled.

"Actually, a forest had began to grow at the center for years now." Lexi said. "It's called Mirminda forest. There is a legend of that forest. 'Those who seek the wisdom, courage, power shall enter the light and dark', is how it gos. People believe that the shrine in the center of the forest has something to do with the legend, but most don't believe it is even true."

"Do you think light and dark means the Dream and Nightmare?" Annie asked.

"It could, it could not. But I think that is our best option for now." Daichi said.

"Alright then, let's get going!" Akira exclaim jumping up. The others got up too. They walk out of the room with their guardian ghosts as well as the spirits of the two kings and queens.

They were all in shock at the site in front of them as they exited the room. Maids, soldiers, and generals were rushing all over the place. They were all in a hurry. _Boom!_ The gang and the ghosts look at a nearby large glass window to see a massive explosion out far in the Dream's land. The Nightmares were attacking!

* * *

**Jeanne: **_My grandson's girl is a PRINCESS?!_

**Ren: **_Calm down, Jeanne. They haven't gotten together yet._

**Me: **_Rei and Lexi will get together soon enough._

**Lyserg: **_So, Yuki and Serena are together?_

**HoroHoro: **_I'm glad my granddaughter is going to be with Lyserg's grandkid._

**Pilika: **_She looks like me, you know._


	11. Chapter 10

I do not own any of the characters. Please enjoy and review.

**HoroHoro: **_Cool, so there is now a battle going on?_

**Me: **_Yep!_

**Ren: **_Finally some fighting._

**Jeanne: **_Fighting isn't always good, Ren._

**Pilika: **_It turn you boys to idiots who fight each other for fun._

**The rest of the girls nodded.**

**The Boys: **_Whatever. Fighting can be fun, you know._

* * *

Chapter 10

"How long is it going to take?!" Akira shouted while jumping up with his hands on his head from inside the carriage. Marika pull him back down onto the seat.

"We're almost there. Don't worry." Lexi assured him.

The gang was on their way to the center of the two kingdoms' land. The Nightmares have started attacking and the Dream was defending their kingdom and was launching back attacks. They all knew that the two kingdoms will fight mostly in the center but they had to try to reach it. They were taking a hidden route away from the fighting to be able to reach it without getting attack.

They winced when they heard another explosion. They could hear the cries from the two sides as they clash weapons. There were shouts of pain and victory from both sides. Lexi looked worried as she looks ahead of them to see a roaring battle ahead. As they got closer, she could see a lot of tents and armies of the Dream set up. Generals were giving commands of all sorts to attack and defend to the soldiers.

Rei was sitting next to Lexi. He gives her a small knock on the head. "Quit worrying, Lexi. It wouldn't do you any good anyway." Lexi nods but Rei could still sense that she was still worried. _But then, how can she not?_ Rei thought. _Her kingdom is at stake as well as the lives of many people._

They soon arrived at one of the base of the Dream's soldiers. Lexi jump off so did the others. General Mikisha, one of the Dream's best generals, was surprised when the carriage arrived and he was even more surprise when the missing princess jump off the carriage in non-princess clothes and in a non-princess manner! All of them had changed back into their normal outfits before they left the castle.

Mikisha rush up to the princess. "Lexi! When did you come back? More importantly, why are you here at this time?" Mikisha had known Lexi ever since she was a baby and she was always wearing her gowns and would never be so impolite in front of people in the kingdom! He notices a couple of other kids behind her.

"Not now, Mikisha. I came here for an important reason." Lexi said sternly. Mikisha was quite shock at her tone.

"But, I never heard from the king and queen! It's dangerous for you to come out here! Those Nightmares are attacking!"

"Simple, the only reason why you didn't heard because I never told them. I came here with my friends." Lexi said coldly.

"But why would you disobey your parents? This is the first time I seen you do that!" Mikisha shouted.

"Don't try to stop me. I'm not the sweet helpless little girl people think I am. I'm not a pretty doll!" Lexi slash a nearby stump in half with her silver whip. The others watch with interest.

Mikisha gave out a small sigh. He pats Lexi's head. "Looks like you change a lot since you disappeared." he look over at the rest of the gang. "Take good care of her, alright? She's very loved by our people." The gang nodded.

Mikisha turn around and shouted out orders. Lexi smiled and began making her way to Mirminda forest with the others right at her tail.

* * *

They have been walking in Mirminda forest for quite some time now and they had not yet reach the shrine. Everybody was on guard for any attackers nearby. The forest looked like any other forest but it had a powerful aura lucking in the many lush green trees. There were no animals in site but the gang had found recent tracks along the forest floor.

Lexi was trailing behind the others as she checks her whip to make sure it was ready. Rei quickly wrap his arms around her and made her lean onto his chest. She gave a small yelp. She could feel his warm breath near her neck.

"First time I have seen you act like that. Nice. I like a strong girl." Rei whispers into her ear which causes her to blush furiously. He smirks as he let go of her and start to follow the others.

"Jerk." Lexi mutters as she ran to catch up. Akane smiles at her and Rei.

It wasn't long before they had reached a clearing in the forest. There, standing before them was an ancient shrine that had powerful masses of energy coming from inside of it. They gather around I and notice that there was a small little wooden door located right in the middle of the shrine.

"Open it." Morty said.

"Lexi's the only one here that is a part of the royal family that is alive so why don't you go ahead Lexi?" Jasmine gave Lexi a gentle push towards the shrine. She places both hands on the small doorknobs and slowly opens it.

There was a bright flash which blinded them that they could not see that behind the door laid a different universe and the door in the shrine was a portal, a link to another world. They felt themselves being suck into the portal and they started to float around in this different place. They open their eyes to find themselves surrounded by bubbles of the past. To say the least, everybody was pretty amazed. They had somehow been transported into a dimension of time!

"What is this place?" Charlie shouted/asked. They were now pasting by the memories of their past. In one bubble, show the battle in Scarlet Town, in another show of their meeting with Keir. Daichi look around at all of the different bubbles with interest. You could only see the memory but you couldn't hear it. This was a really strange place.

"Daichi, I never would have believe that there was a time portal anywhere in the world!" Amidamaru exclaim. "Yet, here we are floating through the past!" Daichi nodded with wonder filling his mind. He notices that the bubbles seem to be only forming the memories of the people in this unusual dimension. They show them going back to their younger years.

He notices a weird memory. He went closer to it. It shows a little girl standing outside a car. A man was yelling at her and she had her head down so he couldn't see who she was. And then, the car drove off leaving the little girl standing there at the edge of the road. The girl was dirty and he could see scratches on her arms.

_That must have been her parents who left her! But what kind of parent would abandon their own kid at such a young age? More importantly, who was that girl?_ Daichi thought hard and he was about to look into the memory again when it had disappeared on him! He frowns and looks over at the others. They only have four girls plus the two queens._ It couldn't be Serena since I known her for a long time and it couldn't be Marika because her father died. Lexi had her two parents and they sound like they wouldn't want to let her go. So that only leaves Annie, Jasmine and Seshu. But I can't figure out which one!_

"Hey look at that!" Akira suddenly shouted. They all look over to see that inside two large bubbles that were close to one another show the Hikari Orb and the Kurai Orb. They flew closer to watch what was going to happen next. In the background, they could see lightning flashing into both of the room. Both rooms started to shake and they guess that the tornado was just starting. They heard a rush of footprints coming from both bubbles as the people in the castle rush underground for shelter. Slowly, two little pixies emerge from the orbs. They looked the same but were wearing different colors that suited their orbs. The pixies had on mischievous grin. They flew around a bit before going back into the two orbs. As the group watch, the two orbs suddenly disappeared into thin air with a pink and purple flash!

"Nobody stole it! The two pixies were playing a trick!" Daichi shouted.

"Pixies are very mischievous. They love to play tricks on people." Amidamaru said grimly.

"Too bad that trick of theirs turn into a centuries war between the kingdoms." Yuki said.

"All this time, we had blamed each other for the disappearance of the two orbs, but it was those mischievous pixies!" Nevel said angrily.

There was twinkling laughter behind them as they watch the bubbles. They whirl around to see two beautiful orbs about the size of a basketball floating right in front of them. Two little pixies peek out from behind both orbs and gave a smile.

"The pixies! And the orbs!" everybody exclaim. The pixies floated in front of the two orbs with their hands behind their backs and they had sheepish looks on their faces.

"Sorry!" both pixies said together. The group frowns.

_It was a dangerous trick that those two did, but I think they just wanted to play. Can't do anything about the past, but we can change the present and future_, Daichi thought.

"Come on, guys! Let's just get the orbs back safe and sound." Daichi grin at the pixies and a rush of hope flew into their little faces.

"All right, I guess. But you two must promise never to do this again, okay?" Lexi scold them. They both nodded and went back into the orbs. There was another bright light and the group found themselves back outside in the forest in front of the shrine. Both kings and queens departed for heaven because their work here was over. The two orbs surrounded the gang as they felt themselves being lift into the air. They floated out of the forest and finally stop in midair in the middle of the battle. They look down to see everybody had stop fighting and was watching the group of kids flying in midair. Lexi's parents were there as well as the king and queen of Nightmare kingdom. Both had confusion written all over their faces.

"What on earth is going on?" Amanda shriek. Leo tried to calm her down.

"Everyone! You can stop fighting now. I have the two orbs so please drop down your weapons to hear what happen long ago!" Lexi shouted to the crowd. Surprisingly, the soldiers drop their weapons and the area fell silent.

The pixies came out of the orbs which earn them shouts and gasps of shock and awed. "We're very sorry! We made the orbs disappear because we wanted to have a little fun. Being coop up inside the orbs with nothing to do is NOT our idea of fun!" the pink pixie pouted.

"That's right! It was only a mere trick. We didn't think it would start a war between the two kingdoms!" the purple pixie jump in.

"Why didn't you return the orbs right away then?" Leo asked. Shouts erupted from the crowd as they agreed with him.

"We couldn't because the people had lost hope in peace between the two kingdoms and soon we got trap inside a different dimension!" the pink pixie replied. The purple pixie nodded in agreement.

"Does it matter? We have the orbs back and those two promises never to do it again. I think you should have them play around once in a while so they don't get bored." Lexi said. The kings and queens look at one another before nodding. The pixies smile and flew back into the orbs. Lexi and the gang were brought down next to Leo and Amanda. The Kurai orb flew into the Nightmare king's hands while the Hikari orb was place into Leo's hands. The two sides started laughing and joking with one another. The gang smile as once again, the two sides were at peace.

* * *

It was the perfect night for an evening ball at the Dream's castle. Amanda and the Nightmare queen, Meruda, had planned the whole party after the fighting had stop. The ballroom had plenty of space for dancing and food. In a corner sat a large array of tables fill with delicious food. Several golden chandeliers lit up the room and the queens had hired the best musicians to play at the ball. Four large chairs were place at the front for the kings and queens. Everybody was dress in fine gowns and tunics. It was very lively indeed.

Leo stood up from his chair as well as Iydeed, the Nightmare king. Leo silences the crowd. "Welcome to a wonderful celebration for our two kingdoms has finally join together once again!" Leo's voice boomed into the ballroom. The crowd claps and cheers.

"Make yourself comfortable and enjoy the party!" Iydeed shouted. More cheers and claps came from the large crowd. Iydeed gave a signal to a page. The page nodded and presses a small button. Colorful rays of fireworks exploded into the moonless night sky. Everybody watch in amazement as each firework came into view. It was truly a beautiful sight to be held.

After a nod from Leo, the musicians started a lively yet slow song and the crowd started to dance together. Everybody was partner up.

Leo had the gang come over to them. "Thank you for what you have done."

The gang smiled. Lexi gave a sigh of relief.

"But," Amanda began. They look at her suddenly anxious. "Lexi, you disobeyed your father and me."

"Mother! I had to!" Lexi protested.

"I know, honey. And I know I'm going to have to let you be on your own now, don't I?" Amanda said tearfully.

"We have agreed to let you travel with your friends. But write to us every so often, all right?' Leo said, smiling brightly. Lexi nodded really fast and was beaming with excitement.

"Actually, we were planning to leave tomorrow morning." Daichi jump in.

Leo and Amanda look at him in surprise. "So soon? Don't you want to rest?" Amanda asked. The gang shook their heads.

"We have to get going." Rei said.

"Yeah, we do have a time limit." Yuki agreed.

Both kings and queens smiled. Leo reaches into his robe and pulls out a couple of short yet thick strips of fabric in different colors. At the two ends of each fabric was a small button that was a darker version of the color of the fabric. He handed the boys two fabrics each in a different color that suited them each perfectly. They look at him in confusion.

"Those are a piece for your Oracle Bells. You see, the Patch people have asked us to guard a piece because the previous guardian has fallen ill and he is a dear friend of mine so we had agreed." Leo explains. The boys drop the fabrics into the pouches.

"You have shown that you are worthy of it. Good luck in the fight!" Amanda said encouragingly.

"I can't believe we got a piece without knowing that it was here!" Charlie said jumping about. The others laugh and nodded.

"Lexi, dear, I forgot to tell you that you should be looking for suitors soon." Amanda broke the news to Lexi who suddenly panic.

"Mother! I am not even 16 yet! I'm only 13 right now. You can't expect me to marry now!" Lexi shouted in protest. Most princesses are to be marrying at the age of 16.

"Well, you do have boys as your friends in addition to girls. Maybe one of them will do?" Amanda said playfully.

"What?! Mother! And besides, that one," Lexi points to Daichi. "already has a fiancée!" At the mention of that, Daichi casually swung his arm around Annie's waist and pulls her closer. Annie rolls her eyes at him and smiles sweetly at the king and queen.

"That's an even younger age!" Leo said in shock. Daichi grins and shrugs.

"There is still four more!" Amanda protested.

Lexi rolls her eyes. "I'll decide on whoever I want to marry when I want to." The queen finally gave in and sigh to which earn Lexi a happy smile.

"Go dance!" Amanda urges them and shoo them off into the dance floor. Daichi and Annie were together so was Yuki and Serena. Akira held out a hand to Marika and Rei pull Lexi into the crowd of dancing people. Charlie practically ran to the food tables because he didn't want to dance and even if he did, he didn't have a partner.

Charlie grabs a plate and was sampling each food he could find. Nobody else was at the tables because they were all dancing. He looks up just as a girl about the same age as the other girls walk up to the table.

She had wavy orange hair and the two bangs that stood in front of her ears were braided with each having a yellow ribbon that was braided in also and was holding it. She had white skin with a flower headband on top of her head. She wore a flowing yellow dress with orange-red lining. A sweet smile was on her face and her brown eyes twinkled.

"Hi there! You're eating a lot. Don't you want to dance like the others?" she looks at him with a curious expression plastered on her face.

Charlie reddens at the fact that he was caught eating this much. "I don't like to dance because it's not break dance!" Charlie quickly pulls out a golden chain and cap from who knows where and bust a move. The girl laughs at his joke and he smiles gratefully.

"You're funny! I'm Claire Hinamori! Nice to meet you! Oh, and this is my ghost, Maylofree." Claire said while still laughing as a small tabby cat ghost peek out behind her dress.

Charlie started to laugh too. "I'm Charlie McDonell. This is my guardian ghost, Mic." Charlie reaches down to pet both Mic and Maylofree. They both purr loudly. Charlie and Claire talk some more and Charlie began to feel ready comfortable being with her.

Charlie rose back up to his feet after a while to find Claire's face sad. "What's wrong?" Charlie asked suddenly anxious. He wasn't good with girls like the other boys were.

She shook her head. "Nothing much, I just wish my family were still alive to see this wonderful day."

"What happen?"

"They were all kill in the war. I have been living by myself for a while now." she explains sadly.

Charlie claps in her face. She looks at him, startled. "Why don't you come with me and my friends? We're traveling to find the five pieces for our Oracle Bells."

She eyes him anxiously. "I'm not sure if they would want me to be with them."

Charlie gives a laugh and started to pull her towards the others. The others greeted her warmly. The girls were talking and laughing with Claire while the boys were together snickering at Charlie. Daichi let her join them but Charlie was going to have to tell them why soon. Charlie agreed and he told a couple of jokes to the gang. Lexi, Marika and Claire laugh so hard that they were hugging their sides. The night ended peacefully for them.

Meanwhile, while everybody was partying inside the ballroom, a certain boy floated in the air looking down at the. "Enjoy your fun for it will not last. You better watch out." Keir said before vanishing into the moonless night.

* * *

**Ren: **_Gee wow. Pixies._

**Me: **_Gee thanks._

**Yoh: **_Give her a break, Ren._

**Lyserg: **_There are good points in the story._

**Me: **_I got you and Jeanne together, Ren!_

**Ren: **_In the story._

**Anna: **_Right. (Roll eyes)_


	12. Chapter 11

I do not own any of the characters. Please enjoy and review.

* * *

Chapter 11

They only needed one piece left to complete their Oracle Bells. As they headed towards the big city in the Kiki-Beno region, the boys were getting reckless.

_You can't blame them; they only need one more piece. I just wish we didn't have to go to the big city,_ Annie thought as she walks behind the others. _I don't want to see them again._

It took them a few days to reach the big city. Since the Kiki-Beno region was small, there was a giant city in the middle fill with the latest technology! The city rose with many tall buildings and houses. People were rushing all over the place. This was why it was called the big city.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! What's cooking?" a man's voice boom. They rush over to a large T.V. screen where a bunch of people were gathering. They almost fell over anime-style at the site of the man. He was wearing the Patch Tribe clothing and had the Patch's markings on his face. The guardian was a T.V. host?!

"What on earth?" Rei asked. Lexi had her hand over her mouth.

The man continued to talk in a loud voice. "I'm searching for people to be on my show for one time only! So come to Jiku Studio right away!"

They stared in shock at this. Never has a Patch revealed themselves without some kind of thrust. This was just unbelievable.

"OMG! Is that you Annie?" a voice behind them said. Annie frowns at the site of two girls in front of them. They were twins and they were older than Annie. They had on tacky outfits just to show off their bodies and one wore a red ribbon while the other wore a red headband. Daichi look over at Annie who was frowning and her knuckles were turning white by the way she was crunching them.

"Why are you here?" the one with the ribbon said while smirking.

"Nothing. I'm here with my friends." Annie replied coldly. The gang wonders what was going on.

"Um, who are you?" Lexi asked.

The twins gave a dramatic gasp and they pretend to put their hands over their hearts. Annie rolls her eyes at them to which they gave her the evil eye. "OMG! OMG! Didn't Annie tell you we were her older twin sisters?"

The gang looks over at Annie who didn't look back at them. "You're not my sisters anymore." Annie said.

"Who do you think you are, you ungrateful brat?" the headband wearing twin shouted slyly.

"That's right! You got a lot of nerve coming back here!" the other one piped up. The gang frowns. They clearly didn't like the way the two girls were treating their friend.

The headband turns to face Daichi. She gave him a big smile which makes him narrowed his eyes. "Hi there, cutie! How are you? I'm sorry for my little sister being such a pest!"She said in a sickening sweet voice the complete opposite then how she treated Annie. Annie rolls her eyes and frowns again.

The other twin turns towards Rei. She gives him a bright smile. "Hello! You're quite the boy! How about you and I get to know each other?"

Lexi scowl. The twin was walking towards Rei now. Lexi stuck her leg out and the twin fell right in her face. "Oops, my bad! Didn't notice you there, witch!" Lexi turn her giggle into a fake cough. Rei smirk. The twin glare at her and got back up to her feet.

"Well, it was nice knowing you if not for annoying pests." both twins gave Lexi and Annie a death glare and they gave Rei and Daichi bright smiles before running off. This was turning into quite the day.

* * *

The gang was at a grand hotel owned by the Tao family. Rei's family was really rich and as soon as the people who work there realize him walking towards the hotel, they started rushing around to prepare for his entrance. The gang was given the highest grand rooms in the hotel that was one of the tallest buildings around. It was called, "Golden Rings," and was one of the expensive hotels in the whole world! Everything was golden and shines brightly.

The gang were in the boys' room talking about their next move but it soon turn to what had just happen with Annie and those two girls.

"Annie? What happen?" Daichi said.

Annie stayed silent for a while, letting her bangs brush over her face. Daichi was sitting next to her on his bed. "When I was about five years old, my parents left me on the side of the road." The girls gasp and the boys frown.

_That girl was Annie?!_ Daichi thought as his mind took him back to that bubble. A rush of anger erupted inside of him. _I can't believe they treat Annie like this!_

"Why would they do that?" Lexi exclaim.

"My parents had always liked my sisters better. They were my mother's first born so she treated them like angels while she always looks at me in disgust. Ever since I was a baby, I always had a small closet for my room with hardly any space." Annie pauses before she continued while biting her lip. "I was never allow upstairs unless it was to get something for my parents or my sisters. I was never allow eating at the table and had to eat in my room. I never get anything and was always getting blame for what my sisters did wrong. My parents never believe me and at times, they would throw me out of the house. When somebody would come to our door to ask questions about the neighborhood and say how many kids we had. My parents would always say two little girls. They didn't even notice me. It was like I was a ghost that was never wanted but was there anyway." Annie grabs the sheet tightly.

"Who would treat their kid like that?!" Amidamaru shouted. When Amidamaru was still alive, he had lost his parents to bandits.

Daichi's eyes darken. "All of you except Annie leave." Daichi said in a calm but fierce voice that made everybody rush out without complaining, even Amidamaru left. The door slam shut. Daichi scowls. "I said, leave!" There was a rush of footsteps as they ran away from the door.

Annie looks at him, tears forming in her eyes. He pulls her into his chest and played with her soft hair as she cries softly. "I'm sorry, Daichi." Annie said quietly.

"For what?" Daichi mutters into her hair. He could smell strawberries.

"For treating you like that." Annie answered.

"It's fine. Besides, you had it worst."

Annie looks at him and he gives her a warm smile. "Were your sisters always freaks?" he asked. Annie laughs and nodded.

"Actually, after they left me, your mother and grandmother found me and took me in."

Daichi raise an eyebrow. "Really?"

Annie nodded. "I began to study under their teaching. The tips of my hair turn brown and I change my last name. When they told me I was going to have to marry you, I didn't think it was such a good idea. Boys never liked me much so I didn't think you would either. That's why I was mean to you when we meant; I didn't want you to live a life with me."

Daichi chuckled. "Well, you're the only girl who I ever found interest in. It doesn't matter anyway; we can't disobey my mother and grandmother." Daichi press her gently on the bed, making him be on top of her. He smirks as he twirls a strand of her loose hair.

Annie flush but then she smiles slyly. "Well? Are you going to be on top of me with nothing to do whats-so-ever?" Annie taunted him. He grins and plant a few kisses on her neck which causes her to give a startled yelp. She pushes him off of her and smiles sweetly.

"We should get going. Those friends of yours must be getting crazy." Annie said as she got off the bed. Daichi laugh as he knew that she was talking about the other boys.

Daichi rose from the bed and wrap his strong arms around her while pulling her closer to him. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Did you see what Lexi did to one of your sisters?" Daichi buried himself at the crook of her neck.

"She was pretty mad about the way my sister was talking to Rei. She deserves to be landing face flat."

Daichi laugh again. "They're just snobs."

"The weird thing is that a bunch of boys liked them which are like crazy."

"Who would like them in those tacky outfits and with all that make-up? They look like clowns! I wouldn't date her even if my life depends on it!"

Annie giggled. "Really? Have you ever dated any girls?"

"No, the girls at my school are really annoying."

"We should send Claire on an errand."

"Why?" Daichi ask curiously. Soon understanding came to him. "I get it. I'm surprise Charlie got her to come with us in the first place. He's not that good with girls."

Daichi release Annie and they walk out of the door. They found the rest of the gang sitting quietly in the lobby. Well, as quiet as a mob of employees trying to please Rei. The others look up to see Daichi and Annie coming down the stairs.

"Hey, Claire, could you go and get me a small flower key chain, please. You'll find them at Grab&Go. West Street of Milky Road." Annie said. Claire nodded and walk out of the hotel. The rest headed back to the boys' room.

"Charlie? Why did you want Claire to join us?" Daichi asked, getting down to business.

"I don't know, maybe because she's a joiner?" Charlie fires another lame joke. Rei whack him in the head with his spear.

"We're serious." Annie said.

"Okay, okay. She has my spirit." Charlie said. They stared at him for a long time.

"Impossible." Rei said.

"Doubt it." Akira said.

"No way." Yuki said.

"You're out of your mind." Lexi exclaim.

"Are you sure?" Daichi asked.

"YES! I AM VERY, VERY SURE!" Charlie exploded as he threw his hands up in the air.

"So that's what I felt last night." Annie said.

"What?" everybody turns towards her.

"My beads started to shake because of how much mana she gave off. My beads also responded when Lexi's dragon spirit appear too." Annie explains.

"We believe you." everybody except Charlie said.

"You believe her and not me?!" Charlie whined. They nodded. Charlie fake sob while Rei and Akira slaps him out of his so-call 'sob'. The boys hold respect for Charlie, but at most times, he was an idiot.

"So, did you tell her yet?" Daichi asked.

Charlie nodded excitedly. "She was really shock about it. But I convince her and she's fine with it."

"Amazing, she actually was fine with it." Akira said in surprise.

"That is pathetic." Rei scoff.

"That is truly a miracle." Yuki said.

"I didn't ever believe that kind of thing would happen." Daichi gave out a low whistle.

"Come on, guys! I'm a growing boy!" Charlie protested.

There was a knock on the door and Claire peek in. "Annie? I brought you a key chain."

Annie and the girls stood up. "We should get some rest. We will go to the studio tomorrow." Annie said before walking out the door with the other girls following. The boys look outside their window to see the sun almost completely gone. The blue moon came out and lit a glowing light n the land. Everybody went to sleep peacefully.

* * *

The next day, the gang was up bright and early. They had a quick breakfast and rush out of the door. The gang followed Annie over to the T.V. studio because she was the only one who knew where things were in this large city. They finally arrived at a large and tall building. It was filled with glass windows and was very fancy. They walk into the studio only to find many people lining up to audition for the show! Many kids of all ages; some had their parents with them were all over the lobby and there were several security guards trying to calm everybody down.

The gang looks around for the end of the line and but they had finally found it at the end of hallway. They prepare themselves for the very long wait.

"OMG! Annie! Why are YOU still here?" Annie's two twin sisters scream when they saw them. They went behind the gang in the line. Daichi and Rei groans and the others frowns.

"Jane. June. SO good to see you again." Annie said, her voice was fill with sarcasm.

"Whatever." Jane scoffs and rolls her eyes. She turns to Daichi and smiles sweetly which makes him looks at her in disgust. "Hi again! Do you have a girlfriend? Oh, and I just LOVE your headphones!"

"I wouldn't date you even if you pay me a billion bucks!" Daichi scowl as they move forward in the line.

Jane's face was in shock for she had never met a boy from around here that would turn her down before. Well, Daichi ISN'T from around here. Annie covers her giggle with her hand at her older sister's face. "Oh, come on cutie! You just need to get to know me better!"

Daichi shook his head. "Sorry, but I already know you enough to last me a lifetime."

"What?! How can you not like me?" Jane shriek. She took a step forward as the line continued to move.

"Oh please, Jane. You are such a drama queen. Boys were probably paid to date you because you're such a total idiot." Annie rolls her eyes. Jane shot her a death glare.

"Yeah right, little sister!" Jane shot back. "No boy has ever liked you and no boy ever will!"

"Really? I think she has friends right now who like her just fine, mostly me." Daichi replied coldly as he wraps an arm around Annie's waist. Jane gaped at him.

"Better close your mouth or you'll have flies swarming all over your pathetic self!" Annie smirks.

Meanwhile, June was flirting with Rei who looks just as disgusted by all of this as Daichi. "So, what's your name?"

"None of your business." Rei scoff.

"Oh! So you're a bad boy, huh? I just LOVE a bad boy!" June giggled insanely.

"Whatever." Rei scoff. June squeal and Lexi rolls her eyes.

"PL-EASE! Don't you have a whisper voice, witch?" Lexi said. "We are in a building for god's sake!"

June looks at Lexi in disgust and puts a hand on her hip. "Like, who are you to judge me? I'm older, hon!"

"Really? You're older than me?" Lexi widen her eyes as she fake the surprise. "Cause, like, you act like a five year old, HON!" June was full with rage. Lexi gave her a sweet smile and Rei smirk.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang and the ghosts watch all of the drama going on as they moved up the line every so often. The line continued to move up and they could see many people walking away sadly.

"I could be a super star!" June shouted at Lexi.

"Oh yeah? I'll LOVE to see you on stage as a complete idiot!"

"He would like me so much more than he would with you! You're just jealous of how much attention he's giving me!"

Lexi glare at her. "You don't even know him and now you want to date him?! I just wanted to save him from having a horrible life with a witch like you!"

"Ouch." Akira said to Rei.

"Whatever. I don't care about you because I hardly know you and from what I can tell, you're just a spoil brat. Besides, I'm taken." Rei wrap both of his arms around Lexi and pulls her closer. He rests his chin on her shoulder.

Lexi gave June a smug smile even though she knows that Rei was just helping her win, at least she thought he was, she wasn't quite sure. Lexi made an L on her forehead with her hand. "Loser!" Lexi stuck her tongue out at June who was outraged.

Daichi gave a sigh as Jane kept yelling at Annie who replied with calm, yet cold remarks. He felt a tug on his shirt and he looks down. He saw an orange tiger ghost standing there. He looks at the tiger in confusion. It gave a soft purr and pointed to Amidamaru who was floating in the air above him.

"Daichi, I think it wants us to follow it." Amidamaru said. Daichi nodded and motion for the others to follow him. He grabs Annie gently on the arm and pulls her away from her still screaming sister while Rei did the same with Lexi who was still fighting with June.

They followed the large tiger down the hallway. They walk past rooms and closets. The tiger led them to a pair of steel doors that opened when the tiger came near it and the gang went through the steel doors. Inside was a room, the floor was hard wood and there was several chairs for the judges' tables. There was a bunch of lights and cameras all angled at different points. In the corner, sata man in Patch clothing who jump up when he saw them.

"Micky! You're back and you found shamans!" the man exclaim happily. He ran over and shook each of the gang's hands really fast. "My name is Billy! Nice to meet you! Welcome to my show!"

"Wait, are you telling me we are going to do our test on LIVE?!" Charlie shouted in excitement.

Billy nodded. "Indeed you are! Now, the judges will be those five wonderful ladies!" Billy smiled brightly at the girls. "But you must be fair, alright?"

The girls nodded. They had evil smirks on their faces. "Don't worry, we'll be VERY fair." they said sweetly. The boys gulp. They suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

* * *

"Welcome to the Grand-Milk! I'm your host, Billy. Today we have five lovely guest judges and five boys ready to get down on our game! The rules are very simple, win two out of the three rounds and you win the GRAND prize! And remember, NO cheating!" Billy shouted into his microphone. The cameras were moving on their own as was the lights because Billy was using his mana to make it possible.

"Now, here are our contestants!" Billy pointed over to the side and a beam of light shine on the boys. Billy began to introduce them one by one. He finally brought out a large colorful wheel with flashy lights and ribbons sticking out of the sides.

"I will roll this wheel and whatever it lands on; you will have to do it! I'll choose who will do it by this random name picker." Billy held up a mini-phone. "Are you ready?" The boys nodded.

Billy spun the wheel hold. It whirls around and around. The ribbons were flowing at high speed and the lights were looking like a light circle because the wheel was going really fast. It started to slow down after a while. It finally landed and the boys except Charlie groans at what it said. It said in big writing, 'Joke's contest!' Charlie was jumping up and down and was praying that he would get pick.

"Wow! The first rounded is all about jokes! You will have to tell your best joke to score some points from the judges. Let's get cracking, huh?!" Billy press a few buttons on his phone and it gave a loud ring. "And it looks like Charlie will get to do this one!"

"Oh yeah! " Charlie punches the air with his fist. The other boys smack their heads and prepare for the worst.

Charlie walks up into the middle of the room and the other boys watch off-stage. Charlie took the microphone off its stand. "Hey there everybody! Did you hear about the deer that join the sheep? Well, it just so happens that he was a sheepish deer with antlers!" Charlie places a pair of tall antlers on his head. They were really heavy so he kept on walking back and forth, trying to keep balance. He finally fell down face flat on the hard floor with his antlers rolling off-stage. The girls erupted with laughter, mostly because of how he fell down. Annie and Serena gave him an 8.5 due to his bad joke but funny fell over and Marika, Lexi and Claire gave him each a 9.5.

"Will you look at that?! Charlie gets a grand total of 45.5 points! An outstanding score considering only 50 points can be given in all!" Billy shouted. "And now, let's see what his opponent gets!" Billy snaps his fingers and a mask person appeared on stage wearing nothing but white. Billy had Charlie stand in a corner and they all watch the mask person as it walk up to the mike.

It spoke in a robotic voice and the boys had to admit, its joke was pretty funny. The girls gave it all 10s which comes to a grand total of 50 points!

"I can't believe it! The mask person had got a total of 50 points! Charlie, I'm sorry to say that you have lost this round! It's I-0 with the mask people winning!" Billy shouted in amazement but they knew he was faking it. They were really going up against him. That mask person was filled with Billy's mana.

Charlie steps off the stage in defeat. The other boys tried to cheer him up. It wasn't over yet. Billy walks over to the wheel and spun it again. The boys waited, anxiously. It started to slow down and landed.

"Well what do you know? It's the 'Bubbles Popper'! Each person from each team will have to pop as many bubbles as they can in less than one minute! And, you can choose who you want to do this round! You may use a weapon if you would like. There will be a wall to separate the two and our cameras will see who pops the most bubbles. " Billy announced.

"Yuki." Daichi said without looking at him.

Yuki smiled and got up from his seat. "You got it."

"Our guests have chosen Yuki to be their player! The mask people have chosen their blue person!" Billy snaps his fingers and a blue mask person went on stage. A large stone wall came out of the floor which causes everything to shake. Yuki check his pendulum case and made sure his crystal was sharp and at the edge. The blue mask person was holding a long shining sword.

Yuki and the blue person stood at different sides of the wall. "On your mark, get set, and GO!"Billy shouted, raising his hand in the air as if to signal. Millions of bubbles of all sizes flew into both sides. Yuki jump up into the air and release his crystal. The wire expended rapidly and zigs and zags all around his side. It pop any bubble in its way as more bubbles kept forming. The blue person was fast as well, slicing through every bubble with its sword.

The others' whip their heads back and forth between the two sides. Each was popping bubbles rapidly. The minute seems to drag on forever! But finally, a bell rang and the bubbles disappeared. Yuki and the blue person landed on their feet and both look towards Billy. Both of the cameras that filmed the whole progress handed Billy a piece of paper with a long robotic arm. Billy looks over the sheets of paper.

"It looks like Yuki wins this round! Give it up! The boys have made a comeback! The score is even! 1-1!" Billy shouted. The boys gave Yuki a high-five. The wall went back under the floor.

Billy spun the wheel. It landed on 'Mud Wrestle!'. "Our contestants are going to have to get into the pool and wrestle in MUD!"

The boys smirk while the girls roll their eyes. "Now, who will be the person to mud wrestle with the red mask person?!" Billy press random buttons and it rang. "It looks like Akira will be doing the honor!"

"Yes!" Akira shouted.

"This is the best thing for a knucklehead like you to do." Rei said. Akira glared at him.

"If I win this, then we all get our final piece!" he shot back.

"You know how Rei is. Just do your best." Daichi said, grinning. He did a fist bump with Akira.

Akira went up the stage and stood on the other side of the red person. Billy gave a signal and a large blue pool rose up from the underground. It was completely fill with mud. Akira and the red person stood touching the pool's side.

"Let's mud wrestle!" Billy shouted and fired a gag gun. They quickly dove into the pool. The two stayed below the surface so the others couldn't see what was going on. There were several air bubbles forming every so often before popping. An arm came out and it was wearing red so that must be the red person. The arm quickly was pulled down again. There were waves that rippled in the mud. At last, Akira stood up with a grin on his face. The red person floated on its back, defeated.

"And it looks like Akira won! This is outstanding! The boys have won, 2-1! They win!" Billy screams. The rest of the gang ran up to congratulate Akira.

"Congrats! You guys have won a trip to Hawaii!" Billy exclaim with a wink towards them to show that he was kidding. They smiled. "Well, that's our show for today! Tune in soon for another episode of Grand-Milk! Good-bye!"

The cameras turn off. Billy turns towards them. He handed the boys each a small two fork short metal claw. They place them into their pouches. "You have five pieces, correct?" The boys nodded. "Good, when the signal for the fight to begin comes, you will have another test before your Oracle Bell will be put together." The boys nodded again and Billy shows them out of the building.

* * *

**Yoh: **_(Laughs) This is quite a surprise for a Patch to be a TV host._

**Lyserg: **_Who was doing the auditions when the host was in another room?_

**Everybody looks at me for an answer.**

**Me: **_Oh! Um, uh... (Gulps)_

**Ren: **_Hopeless._

**Yoh: **_You didn't think of that, did you?_

**Me: **_(Hangs head in shame)_

**Jeanne: **_Oh well, not every story is perfect._


	13. Chapter 12

I do not own any of the characters. Please enjoy and review. This is the last chapter of this story! I will be writing a sequel soon, I hope!

* * *

Chapter 12

The gang was heading back to Celestine Angel because it was time for a celebration! The boys were all goofing off and having fun on the way back. The girls roll their eyes at how childish they were acting but really couldn't blame them. They had of course found all five pieces for their Oracle Bells.

"You're a really lively bunch, aren't you?" Out of nowhere, Keir appears in front of them. They gave him a look of suspicion. Keir laugh. "I'm just here to talk."

"Really?" Rei said holding out his spear that was fill with his mana.

Keir laugh again and Rei was about to attack him when Daichi puts out an arm to stop him. "So, let's talk." Daichi said coldly.

"You sound just like your father and you're a bit calmer because of your mother." Keir said.

"You know my parents?" Daichi raise an eyebrow.

Keir smirk. "Of course I do. Everybody knows about your guys' grandfathers and that you process the five elemental spirits that are a part of the King of Spirits. I hear you guys got all five pieces."

"Yeah, so why does it matters to you?" Daichi replied.

"I hold great respect for you, Daichi. Do not fail in the fight until you get to fight me." with a laugh, Keir disappeared into the sky. Daichi's eyes narrow at this.

"Let's get going guys. My parents will kill me if I kept them waiting too long." Daichi gave a goofy grin. The others smiled along with him. This was Daichi all over; he would never get angry over little things.

* * *

"Dad! Mom! Grandpa! Grandma! I'm back!" Daichi shouted into the Japanese inn. The gang had at last reaches the inn. The boys' families were all together in the living room, talking. They greeted the kids with a large fine meal already cook not too long ago. There were a few kinds of meat such as pork, beef, chicken, vegetables and fruits were laid out, smocking fish, sauces and spices and much more! Everybody dig in and talk all the same. The kids told the adults about their journey. The adults were pleased that they were able to get all of the pieces for their Oracle Bells and they were quite shock about Keir. Daichi handed the white fabric to his mother. They also explain about the dragon spirits and the gang was surprise when the adults said that they already knew about it. The gang continued to tell their story as they all enjoyed a peaceful dinner.

That night, there was a party happening in the garden to celebrate the boys' success. There was laughter in the air as well as a lot of shouting. Rei and Akira were fighting with Lexi and Marika trying to hold them back. Charlie and his father and grandfather were telling bad jokes and Claire was laughing. Yuki was showing Serena tricks with his crystal.

Daichi looks over at Annie. She was in a light pink flowered kimono with her hair hanging loose. He swoops her up in his arms and she was about to protest when a shout came from Charlie. He was pointing to the sky and they all look up. A large blue comet was shooting across the moonless night. It was the Destiny Star! It was a signal from the King of Spirits to all shamans from all over Lyrian that the Spirit Tournament was about to begin!

The boys grin. An even bigger challenge now rose for them. The Spirit Fight was just beginning!

* * *

**Me: **_Yay! I'm finished!_

**Ren and HoroHoro: **_About time._

**Me: **_(Grabs out mallet and whacks them hard on the head) What did you say?!_

**Yoh: **_So, will you continue? I mean, wouldn't people wanted to know what happens next in the fight?_

**Anna: **_Don't leave us hanging, Soul._

**Me: **_Yeah, I'm going to write it up soon. No need to worry!_

**Jeanne: **_I hope so_.

**Pilika: **_Yeah! I want to know if my grandson won or not!_

**Anna: **_Daichi is going to win._

**Tamao: **_Well, lets not get too work up about it. I'm sure Soul is going to have a twist._

**Me: **_You bet I am! Just wait and see!_


End file.
